I’m not normally a great fan of non-fiction, especially political tales, however this riveting biography is so well written it at no time becomes weighed down. The three sisters, their lives and loves, make for some fascinating reading. Moving from grand parties in Shanghai to penthouses in New York, from exiles’ quarters in Japan and Berlin to secret meetings in Moscow we read about power struggles, godfather style assassinations, secret talks and bribes making this a book that is compulsive reading. The Baby Tree—This is such an adorable way to answer the question of how the new baby was made! The story strikes the perfect balance of being biologically accurate without getting too detailed. Full disclosure: The main character is a big brother, but that’s not central to the story. Little Sister, May-ling, became Madame Chiang Kai-shek, first lady of pre-Communist Nationalist China and a major political figure in her own right.

This is an epic undertaking by an excellent writer and historian. Jung Chang brings the early twentieth century to life as she explores the world of Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-Shek. She shows their progress towards revolution, seen through the lives of the family who knew them. Taking the three sisters as the focal point is a clever way of exploring the twists and turns of Chinese society and politics as it moves from a monarchy through to communism.

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But Penny could not easily fall asleep as she worried that she would forget her song by morning. However, when she wakes up, Penny sees that she still remembers her special song. Throughout Penny and Her Song, Penny finds innovative ways to divert her parent’s attention from the babies. Conclusion The three sisters’s lives spanned three centuries of Chinese history. Born late in the nineteenth century, the youngest of them died at the age of 105 in 2003. Together, these three extraordinary women helped shape the destiny of the world’s most populous nation from the closing days of the Manchu dynasty to the dawn of China’s ascension into a superpower. In Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister, the acclaimed Chinese-British historian Jung Chang tells their story with compassion and an obsessive attention to historical fact. In the process, she illuminates the story of twentieth-century Chinese history from a new perspective. While the book is fairly positive on this family you see the Soong's and Kung’s helping themselves to public funds. You see Sun-yat-sen only interested in being president and creating the civil war the ended China’s democracy (that he supposedly founded) to have this status/power. There is some description of Chaing and his 2 million nationalists taking over the 7 million people of Taiwan and how his dictatorship was set up. You see May-ling is only concerned about who will run Taiwan after Chaing’s death because she wanted to keep her large staff (in New York City). You Made Me a Mother—You should know that as I’m reading this book, it gives me a huge lump in my throat…every time. It’s not that it’s sad—just terribly heartwarming. As with You Were the First, this one is perfect to read aloud to your first child.

The Soong sisters came from a world of privilege—they had every comfort they could want and were the first Chinese women to be educated at American universities. They even spoke English more comfortably than their native tongues. What set them on their paths to destiny was perhaps their father’s love for the country. By quietly funding Sun Yat-sen’s revolutionary schemes to democratize China, Charlie Soong inadvertently introduced his daughters to the world of politics. Ai Ling dopo essere stata assistente di Chiang sposò H. H. Kung, ministro delle finanze del governo nazionalista The Soong sisters are not the only highlights, but also their 3 brothers and a powerful political dynasty this family forged. Despite their differing political views, it was clear the sisters loved each other deeply. They protected each other from the political whims of their husbands and showered each other with gifts and letters. With the start of the Nationalist-Communist civil war, however, the sisters were permanently separated. Red Sister died in Communist China alone. Jung Chang divides the book into five parts spanning the years 1866 – 2003. It features the rise of Sun Yat-Sen and the overthrow of the Chinese monarchy to May-Ling’s marriage to Chiang Kai-Shek.

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The subject of an earlier biography by Jung Chang, the Dowager Empress was in reality a far worthier person than she is generally portrayed as being. “A former imperial concubine, this extraordinary woman had seized power through a palace coup after her husband’s death in 1861, whereupon she had begun to bring the medieval country into the modern age.” After earlier efforts at reform that are generally credited to the men in her court, she doubled down on the effort after the turn of the century. “In the first decade of the twentieth century,” Chang writes, “she introduced a series of fundamental changes. These included a brand-new educational system, a free press, and women’s emancipation, beginning not least with an edict against foot-binding in 1902. The country was to become a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament.” Lola Reads to Leo—This simple story is about how a big sister reads to her little brother to connect with him. Perfect for big sisters who love books! What I especially love about this one is that the story reassures your child that you’ll still have time for her.