Brandon Goes to Beijing (北京) – The Disappearing Panda is a multicultural, multigenerational chapter book about a boy named Brandon (yes, the same Brandon in Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi (餃子), but now a few years older), who is visiting his grandparents with his cousins in Beijing, China! Together they tour some of the most popular and important attractions and landmarks in Beijing. They have fun, learn about Chinese history, and eat lots of delicious food – all while bonding with each other. And they get to practice their Chinese speaking! Along the way they are followed by an elusive lost little panda bear. They search for the panda during their tours through Beijing, but he keeps disappearing! Is Brandon imagining all this or is it real? Will Brandon ever find out?
This book is written in English with some Mandarin Chinese (including pin yin – pronunciation) to make the story more authentic, educational and attractive to those learning or interested in the Chinese language and culture. For those who are not familiar with Chinese, seeing the characters and hearing/reading the pin yin may spark an interest in wanting to learn more about a new culture and language (at least this is what a few reviewers of my last book said).
The audience for this book is children learning Chinese (Mandarin), Chinese children growing up outside of Asia, children learning about China, children planning a trip to Beijing, and children (and their parents) who just want to be exposed to and learn about another language and culture. This would be a fun book to include in a teaching segment on China and Chinese history, and would also work well as a tour guide book when traveling to Beijing!