SIX WORDS, MANY TURTLES, AND THREE DAYS IN HONG KONG

A weekend in the life of a Chinese girl in Hong Kong is the subject of this photo-essay from McMahon (Chi-Hoon, 1993), who does a good job of drawing universal parallels and regional distinctions. Eight-year-old Tsz Yan's school day may seem orderly and rigorous, but familiar faces—Minnie Mouse, Garfield—make appearances, allowing US readers to identify immediately. The 1998 fusion with China looms, leading to Tsz Yan's sensible musings—``Will Hong Kong still be itself when it becomes part of something so big?'' Then it is on to after-school daycare and homework—always homework—before her mother comes home from her day job and Dad returns from China, where he toils all week, for the weekend. Saturday and Sunday are a buffet of Hong Kong pleasures: feeding bread to the turtles, a visit to the Ocean Park amusement complex, a ferry ride to Kowloon, a snack at McDonald's, a breakfast of dim sum, cousins watching Jackie Chan on television, family gatherings. Through it all, Tsz Yan saws away at her homework, mostly English words that she neatly ties in to the cultural stew of Hong Kong. The book is an excellent slice of living theater—with the text rolling along, the full- color photographs sharp, the colors and array of sights blinding, and the mood disarmingly matter-of-fact and authentic. (Nonfiction. 7-12)