This is an exquisite book. As a young child growing up in America I was also taught some of these famous Tang Dynasty poems by my father. Though I memorized them, I could not fully appreciate their meanings till I was much older. It is a challenging endeavor to teach a child to appreciate poetry, let alone Chinese poetry. The poems in this book are beautifully translated. The translations are accurate, yet they still retain much of the lyricism and cadence of the original Chinese. I think this book is suitable for many levels. Young children will enjoy the simple imagery and the beautiful illustrations, which have all the classical qualities of traditional brush paintings but are more stylized. An older child may be able to more deeply appreciate the subtle nuances of the poems. An adult would most certainly enjoy both. Advanced students of Chinese will enjoy deciphering the Chinese characters on the margins of the pages and comparing them to the author's own translations.

There are pictures in the poetry, and poetry in the pictures. Of course the poems are undoubtedly classic Tang poems, often time referred to as "Thousand Years Poems" because they are so beloved by the Chinese people. I read the Chinese version of the poems and the English version; the translation is very well done. The poems are gentle and very pleasant to read, especially for those children who can't sleep without a story. I enjoyed this book very much; brought back fond memories of the time I was in preschool reciting the poems to the teacher.

This is a charming and well written cambodian folk tale about a clever rabbit that manages to outwit a much larger and ferocious crocodile. The message is brains over brawn, a theme most children easily relate to. Adults will also enjoy the intelligence and wit of the prose as well as the colorful and and detailed illustrations.

This collection of Tang Dynasty poems richly illustrated will amuse children and educate adults. The short poems are translated lovingly and will easily find a spot in the readers heart. I used the following poem, one a many in the book, as a thank you to my mother on her birthday; Traveler's Song--- My loving mother, thread in hand, Mended the coat I have on now, Stitch by stitch, just before I left home, Thinking that I might be gone a long time, How can a blade of young grass Ever repay the warmth of the spring sun? And how can we thank you Minfong for bringing us this verse?

Sing to the Dawn is very educational and teaches us something through it. It is a very nice book and very interesting. I loved it a lot.

a touching, beautifully written story about a fourteen year old girl living in thailand, she gets a scolarship to study in the city, but has to deal with her jealous brother, and her angry father who thinks that because she's a girl, knowledge would be of no use to her. that leaving to the city would be a waste of time. her dad's a jerk. anyway, though she's quiet, she's also bold, intelligent, and determined. though everyone doubts her, in the end she shows them all. it was an easy read, quite informative, and is a good lesson about hope and strength.

I think that Minfong really processes a good knowledge of vocabulary and the knowledge of knowing how to express them. Dawan is a girl which I thought would give up on the thought of having a scholarship in a city initially. I never knew that she is so determined that she can actually moved her father to the positive way of looking that girls need to study further also. This a fine, good example that happens in our world every time especially in a country where women are not think important.

it tells us about a village called dawan who won a scholarship to be sent to the city to study. It was for the good of the village so that she could go back to the village to teach the villages on what she had learnt in advanced technology.

A nice, simple little book . . . but my almost-4 year old was bored the first time through because of the heavy repetition. It would have been great before he turned 3, but not afterwards.

My kindergartener, who can read, loved this book. She loved the rhyme for each animal: "Hush! who's that peeping? can't you see that baby's sleeping? ... don't you cry, baby's sleeping right nearby" because she could join in. It was also easy enough for her to read. I heard her repeating it in the car for several days afterward. I enjoyed it too. Great for diverse classrooms and parents of children adopted from Asia.

My 19 month old daughter loves this book, especially the beautiful illustrations. Although there are too many words per page for her age - or perhaps her attention span! - this is a book that will grow with your child.

Rice without Rain is a book written by MinFong Ho, witch is about a girl who is in search of founding her best friend, and discovers that her father is in jail. And she head's to the town where he's at. And she try's to find away to raise enough money to get him out. And to do so she as to get up in front of the town and give a speech, that will confence them that he wasn't guilty of the crime he was accused of. And when she gets up there and give's her speech, it make's them angry and so they start throwing miniature bombs and food at her. And I'm not going to tell you the rest of the story because it would ruin the ending, and I recommend that people of all ages should read this book because it's a good story. And it gets you really interested in the book and you won't want to put it down.

I thought Rice Without Rain was an absolutely spectacular book. A story that has love, war - what else could one want? RWR also brings the conflict in Thailand out into the public eye and has informed thousands about these violent periods in Thailand, of which the general population probably is vaguely aware of.

The main character and our heroine, Jinda, is a very simple, good natured young woman, and warms the hearts of all readers with her innocent naivete. The characters are so real in this novel, that they will stay for you months after. They have with me.

I personally would reccomend this piece to anyone. It has been the foundation of my newfound love for Asian literature.

Children of the River by Linda Crew, was a very good novel, but not since Rice With Rain have I had so much interest in reading a novel. I never thought that I would encounter another book as depressing as Children of the River, yet Rice Without Rain certainly was the one. The story was about Jinda Boonreung, a village thai girl, who goes through many struggles to free her father. She also seeks love and happiness from a city boy in Bangkok, Ned. Though they met and fell in love, they couldn't be together. What a ironic twist, huh!? To find out more about this ironic love story and what happened at the end, I'll recommend that you'll need to read this book.

The "Clay Marble" was a good book. It told us about what was happening in Cambodia and around the world. I disliked the beginning because Dara was not trusting herself confidence. I also did not like when Sarun wanted to be in the army. I liked when they got to the border, and Nea offered them rice and anything they needed until they got their own. I liked at the middle of the book when Chnay was nice to Dara, and helped her find her family. They also described the sick things really nasty in the book. The narrator discribed charaters as dynamic and static

The Clay Marble, by Minfong Ho, was an interesting book, but I don't think kids my age would say that. People my age would say a book like this would be dumb because they were forced to read it. But, I think it is a masterpiece, or better known as a classic. Events like the bombing at Nong Chan Camp are pure genius. Of course, these kinds of things were true about two decades ago. But the description of the bombing was so realistic that it felt like you were actually experiencing it. Some of the small, but good events are like Dara, the main character, getting over the "magic" marble and the death of her best friend, Jantu. These were small in the book, but would be big in a child's life, like myself or anyone else my age. Over all, I liked the whole book, despite the tragedies. I would recommend this book to teenagers and adults alike, because of the tragic events I have learned that occurs in this fantastic book.

I think that Mingfong Ho wrote the best book ever, when she wrote "The clay Marble." Set in Cambodia, this book is about a refugee girl named Dara, trying to overcome the obstacles of the war, so that she could live a normal life. When she Jantu, Dara believes that dreams really can shape lifes. My favorite protagonists are Dara, Jantu, and Nea. I think that the worst antagonists were the armies and soldiers. Mingfong Ho doesn't allow the most moving characters to be static- instead they are dynamic. I definatly think that "The Clay Marble" is at least a five star book.

Overall, I think that The Clay Marble is a great novel, and I recommend it to all age groups young and old. Excitement wise, I think that the book had its ups and downs.But I think the most tragic, exciting, breahtaking, and the best part of te story, was when one of Daras newly aquired and most beloved friend, Jantu was shot by a member of Surans own squad. Then after much awaitment and procrastination sh finally dies.And for this I give the book a Rating of Five stars.

Personally I like the book because it had relationships,war and a monkey, therefore i think it was a great book and it had a great ending. My favorite part of the book was when Jantu made a clay mobile ,but after that a character named Chnay came and smashed the mobile. So thats why I give it 4 thumbs up..... I mean 4 stars.
Bob B. Bobobson

AT first I was reluctant to read it but once I got into it I really enjoyed it. I feel that this book is about hardships and what it takes to survive, I would recommend it to anyone who asked! I would also like to thank my teacher for showing me this book!