Sylvia LiuReseñas

If nothing else, I would've picked up this book just based on the cover. The story, however, blew me away. It's an excellent middle grade sci-fi thriller, and Hana is sure to capture the hearts of readers young and old alike. Set in the somewhat near future (30 years), technology has advanced that anyone with a special implant is connected through a network known as the multiweb. But advanced technology hasn't made things into a utopia - unchecked climate change, mysterious illnesses, and the effects of being constantly connected all come into play. The world and all the scenes are wonderfully described, and it really feels like you're watching the whole story unfold in front of you, action scenes included. The characters are well-developed, and the story engaging enough that you really don't want to stop reading once you start. Perfect for any young sci-fi or thriller lover!

Mei Mei and her Gong Gong (grandfather) share their knowledge with one another in this sweet picture-book from author Sylvia Liu and illustrator Christina Forshay. After Gong Gong teaches his granddaughter some of the tai chi he practices, she in turn teaches him some of the yoga poses she has been learning in class. Whatever activity they are engaged in, whatever pose they are striking, their love for one another shines through...

I enjoyed A Morning With Grandpa, and thank the friend who brought it to my attention. The story is engaging, and captures the differences in personality and age between grandfather and granddaughter, as Mei Mei cavorts through her tai chi lesson, and Gong Gong creaks through this his yoga session. I greatly appreciated the fact that the story compares and contrasts two culturally distinct traditions of body movement - the author's afterword gives more information about both - subtly demonstrating that cultural exchange is a good thing. This lesson is more important now than ever, with cultural vandals and essentialists determined to separate people with concepts like "cultural appropriation." The accompanying artwork from Forshay was colorful and cute, capturing Mei Mei and Gong Gong's changing expressions quite well.

All in all, this is well worth the time of any picture-book readers looking for stories about the loving bond between grandparents and children, featuring Asian-American families, or promoting the idea of cultural exchange.

A lively granddaughter is interested in her grandfather's tai chi practice. He teaches her some forms, which she adopts with her own flair; then she teaches him some of the yoga poses she's learned at school.

Back matter includes illustrations and descriptions/instructions of some different forms and poses.

The book celebrates relationships with grandparents and the joy of being physically active together. Sylvia expertly uses similes and metaphors in a child friendly way, introducing emergent readers to the richness of language. A truly beautiful picture book to share with a child.

A girl named Mei sees her grandfather doing Tai Chi outside and it catches her attention. She is eager to know what it is and joins him. After doing some Tai Chi, Mei wants to show her grandpa how to do Yoga. After they have practiced each others arts, they bow to each other. This book is in the Lakewood Pierce College Library, and is for ages 5 to 8.

This is a unique story featuring the relationship between a grandfather ("gong gong") and his granddaughter ("mei mei") as they teach one another: He teaches her tai chi, while she teaches him yoga. As one who practices both tai chi and yoga, I LOVED this premise, and couldn't wait to get my hands on it. The story is clearly from the heart, inspired by the writer's own children and their gong gong. First, Gong Gong demonstrates a series of tai qi poses, while mei mei jumps, prances, and plays through the poses, as only a child can, struggling a bit with the focus required for the poses. The roles reverse, and Mei Mei demonstrates her yoga poses, while Gong Gong struggles with the flexibility required. I loved that both characters showed vulnerability and strength, and I loved that they both accepted the others attempts at the yoga/ tai chi practice, calling one another's attempt, "perfect". And for the record, my daughter, age 4, had me read this to her four times in a row, so she loved it. It's a sweet book.

Here are my teeny tiny reservations about it...
Gong Gong's reaction to Mei Mei's first attempt at tai chi is "Not quite right", which feels a little harsh. He softens almost immediately after, which is nice, but I find the first intro of tone confusing. I would have either liked to have seen an obviously gruff Gong gong who shows personal growth and softens throughout, or a playful gong gong from the beginning. We do get Mei Mei's growth, who seems too playful to practice any poses seriously while getting her tai chi lesson, but then shows how serious and focused she can be while demonstrating yoga.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book as an introduction to both tai chi and yoga to the younger set!

A wonderful book! Both the pictures and story are just lovely. The book is about a little girl and her Grandfather spending a Sat morning together. The grandfather, Gong Gong, is outside doing Tai Chi, and the little girl, Mei Mei, wants to join. The illustrations flow with the story as they move through the poses, with Mei Mei not quite grasping the idea of Tai Chi movements. Then the story flips with Mei Mei trying to teach Gong Gong yoga moves, which he finds difficult to follow. Eventually they find a form that fits them both. A great story to use to introduce multicultural families to children, or to introduce yoga or Tai Chi to kids. The 6 year old loves this book!

So much to love about this book- starting with the relationship between Mei Mei and her grandpa. Teachers: great way to teach opposites as Mei Mei practices her version of tai chi and then teaches Gong Gong some yoga moves. Beautiful language. And a great way to incorporate kinesthetic learning in the classroom.

The lovely pictures in this book compliment the text in their lovely simplicity. I love a book that turns around--first we have the grandfather teaching the granddaughter, then we have the granddaughter teaching the grandfather. An enjoyable introduction to tai chi and yoga could be done after reading the book aloud, which I think could be done with first and second graders without too much chaos.

I thought this was a wonderful book. I read it to my grandsons and all of learned frm it. Such nice book about relationships and teaching that we will read time after time.

The cover of this sweet book is a great preview of the story within. An old man and a little girl enjoy each other's company in a vibrant garden on a warm, early autumn day as he practices tai chi and she does yoga poses. Their affection for one another is clear throughput as they each take turns showing the other some exercise forms. The illustrations are bright, happy, peaceful, expressive. The language is wonderfully descriptive (grandpa "moved like a giant bird stalking through a marsh. His arms swayed like reeds in the wind."). The text has motion mimicking the moves of the characters (without over doing it). Mei Mei feels so real -- so much like little girls I've known -- in her style of dress, her energy, her silly playfulness, her desire to learn (in her own way) and to share what she knows. The whole thing is delightful.

I received this book as part of the early reviewer program. I read it with my kids this afternoon and they enjoyed it! They thought the illustrations were fun and enjoyed how each character tried to copy the other's moves. They also enjoyed trying the moves detailed at the end of the book. Overall, it's cute!

While Grandpa practices tai chi Mei Mei mimics him with her own unique style. Mei Mei then tries to teach Grandpa about yoga with comical results. A warm hearted tale that shows the love they have for each other. The movements are explained within the story without being boring and technical. It seems more like the two characters are really interacting. The illustrations are colorful and readers will see the characters are happy being with each other. Little details like the bees and dragonflies add depth and interest to the drawings. The book ends with two pages on how to perform the tai chi and yoga moves mentioned in the story, with Grandpa and Mei Mei demonstrating. A nice book to share with a child.

Love the warm portrayal of gentle grandfather and spirited granddaughter as he shows her some tai chi moves (all of which I recognize, exciting!) and she shares her yoga moves. Amusingly, neither of them can do the other's moves exactly but they don't mind, happy only to be in each other's company.