The Story about Ping Reading Railroad Books :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

"Ping"

2007-11-28
As a Kindergarten teacher, mother and grandmother, "Ping" has been a favorite book of mine for many years.
This past fall I able to go on a Riverboat cruise down the Yangtze River. This made the book even more meaningful.
J. Allison

second generation

2007-11-22
This story was a favorite with my children and now is a favorite with my grandson.

Great Book

2007-08-23
This is a really cute book. My 6 yo son enjoyed it. He said, "Poor little duck. I wouldn't want to be hit just for being the last one in line!" I have to say, I thought the same thing! :)

I LOVE THIS BOOK

2007-07-25
My children love this book. So many things can be discussed with this classic: discernment, responsibility, being able to take your punishment when you know you've done wrong, Chinese culture, etc. We used this for homeschooling and from here went into discussions about the Yangtze River (where the book is based), and learned about cormorants (the "strange, dark, fishing birds" in the book). It was very educational. Interestingly, it wasn't my favorite at first, but it grows on you, and has such depth. HIGHLY RECOMMEND******

Boring and harsh

2007-07-25
The illustrations are plain and unappealing. The flow of the reading lags as well. My son never showed any interest in this book, and neither did I. Also, there are several references to beating ducks with a stick.

Don't Take it so Seriously

2008-07-10
People who find this book cruel are taking it too seriously. Most of all, this book has been loved by all 5 of my children. It is clever and fun, and has a happy ending. I plan to continue reading it to children and maybe someday grandchildren.

A Favorite of My Daughter's

2008-06-01
I read this book to my daughter when she was a little girl and she loved it. The book is about a little duck that lives on a boat on the yellow Yantze river in China. The little duck leaves his family to go explore and finds himself in great danger, almost ending up as duck soup! He finds his way home again though, and realizes just how good it is to be "home".

Childhood favorite - now my kids' too

2008-05-29
Something special about this little duck who wants to avoid a punshment and winds up in more trouble than he bargained for. In the end he accepts his punshment and returns to the home he loves.

The use of language in this book is poetical. There is a beautiful rhythem to the words.

The pictures are timeless and memorable.

Terrible, Unkind, Abusive.

2008-05-12
I bought this book because it comes up on Amazon as an additional suggestion when I type in "Corduroy," which is, perhaps, the sweetest children's book ever. Well, when "Ping" arrived, I was sadly stunned. "The Story About Ping" is about animal cruelty, abuse, and injustice. Thankfully, my husband "read" it first with my son, and he just looked at the pictures without reading the words. When my husbdan told me later to look it over, I did and was horrified. We threw this book away immediately.

Cruel--and how about racist too?

2008-03-03
We got this as a gift for our Chinese-born daughter. Oh my lord. I have hidden it so she never sees it. First, for the cruelty and the messages behind the cruelty. Secondly, for the illustrations of Chinese people that are caricatured and deeply offensive. The gift-giver loved this book as a child, so it was well-intentioned. But why would I ever give a book with slanty-eyed racist illustrations of Chinese people to my daughter?! I agree with another reviewer who said, "I know it's a classic, but it's time to retire this one." Amen to that.