Susan Blumberg-Kason

  • Bio
  • Books
    • When Friends Come From Afar
    • Bernardine’s Shanghai Salon
    • Good Chinese Wife
    • Hong Kong Noir
    • Instructions for Chinese Women and Girls
  • Articles
  • Press
  • Events
  • Blog
  • Contact
    • Book Group Request

Book of the week–The Travels of Ching

April 11, 2013 By Susan Blumberg-Kason 2 Comments

I feel like I’m juggling a dozen books this week. I’m in the middle of three and almost finished with another. But when I received a GoodReads raffle prize today, I dropped everything this evening to read my new book.

It’s The Travels of Ching (Denio Press) by Robert Bright, the author and illustrator of the Georgie the Ghost books. This book originally came out in 1943 and has recently been rediscovered by Bright’s granddaughter, who reissued it this year.

What a treat!

I’d never heard of Ching or this book, but it’s a lovely story with spectacular illustrations. I’m completely obsessed with pre-1949 China, so it’s right up my alley.

Ching is a doll that comes from the interior of China. No one seems to want him except a poor girl who spies him from the toy story window where he’s displayed until a rich man comes along and buys Ching. But this man doesn’t want him either. Ching embarks on a long journey–across the mountains, down a river (the Yangtze perhaps) and across the Pacific.

As if that’s not enough, he continues by train across the US to what is presumably New York. Again, it’s the same outcome for Ching. No one seems to want him. But since it’s a children’s story, the ending is happy and reassuring in a Velveteen Rabbit kind of way (even more so, if you ask me).

I read this book long after my kids went to bed tonight, but will show it to them first thing in the morning. I can already picture how they’ll fall in love with this book as much as I have.

Filed Under: Book of the Week Tagged With: China, Raising Multi-Cultural Kids

Comments

  1. Stuart Beaton says

    April 12, 2013 at 7:17 am

    Waaaaaaaaa!

    Some people win all the good stuff – I never gets nuffin’!

    Reply
    • Susan Blumberg-Kason says

      April 14, 2013 at 10:55 pm

      I rarely win. I think this month I entered 10 raffles on GoodReads and one this one. But it’s such a great book that I’m more than pleased with just this one!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

Recent Stories

El Ateneo Grand Splendid

When Feng Shui Foretells Heartbreak: A Custody Battle Across Borders

November in New Jersey!

Copyright © 2025 Susan Blumberg-Kason · Design: Ilsa Brink

 

Loading Comments...