DON’T PANIC! as the book said. New changes to the curriculum see literature stepping to the fore and yes, it can be done in the languages classroom.

The rise in children’s books in China has been unprecedented in recent years; spurred on by the popularity of Harry Potter, China’s home-grown young adult fiction frequently tops the bestseller lists, led by the adventures of Charlie IX.

Many Chinese authors use blog sites to attract their audience, with Han Han (the most famous blogger) having over 42 million followers on his Sina site. Getting your students to start small, with blog posts, could be a great way into the topic of modern literature, maybe even get connected to friends in China.

One of our favourite Chinese books at the moment is Bronze and Sunflower, which tells the story of Sunflower, a young girl who moves to the countryside and makes friends with Bronze. Written by Cao Wenxuan and translated by Helen Wang, Bronze and Sunflower is a book which can be used with students of varying ages and Mandarin levels. We have put together some great resources and lesson plans which focus on this book, which can be found here.

For further great resources and ideas, have a look at some of the presentations from our recent 12th Annual Chinese Teachers’ Conference here and here , as well as some other resources from Leeds University , Paper Republic and The Chairman’s Bao. Good luck, you can do it! 加油！！！