When I was eight, I began to read comics in Chinese. Inuyasha (犬夜叉), the Chinese edition of the popular Japanese comic, was one of my first reads.

Christine (5) read a story book aloud.

Christine (almost 6) read aloud a first grade Chinese Language Arts (CLA) textbook from Taiwan.

Christine (7) started reading comic books without zhuyin (注音 phonetic assistance).

Christine (7) read aloud a story book.

At the age of ten, I began reading Chinese short stories without zhuyin 注音, which is a type of phonetic assistance. My dad said that it was one of the happiest days of his life! Here is the beginning of the first story I read:

打開豹籠 (沈石溪）

【一紅崖羊之謎】

普通崖羊都是灰褐色的，高黎貢山的崖羊卻體毛深褐泛紅，到了冬天，毛色鮮紅亮麗，在鋪滿白雪的山上奔跑跳躍，宛如一團團燃燒的火焰。紅崖羊性情溫和，毛色奇特，是世界上獨一無二的品種，因此，極其珍貴。遺憾的是，紅崖羊的數量太少，只有孤零零一小羣，生活在狹窄的納壺河谷。當地山民也知道紅崖羊是世界級的珍稀動物，從不加以傷害。母羊一年生兩胎，每胎產兩、三隻小羊羔，繁殖力在牛科動物中算是高的，但不知爲什麼，紅崖羊數量就是發展不起來。據我請來的嚮導——藏族獵手強巴告訴我，他爺爺年輕時曾仔細數過；這羣紅崖羊有六十六隻，前幾天我在動物觀察站用望遠鏡數了一遍，不多不少，也是六十六隻。

After reading a few short stories, I started the Chinese edition of Twilight (Stephenie Meyer). Here’s the intro:

第一章 初見

序幕

我從未多想我將如何死去，雖然在過去的幾個月我有足夠的理由去思考這個問題，但是即使我有想過，也從未想到死亡將如此地降臨。

我屏息靜氣地望著房間的另一頭，遠遠地凝視著獵人那深邃的眼眸，而他則以愉快的目光回應我。

這無疑是一個不錯的死法，死在別人——我鍾愛的人的家裡。甚至可以說轟轟烈烈。這應該算是死得其所。

I (~ 11) read aloud the Chinese edition of Guess How Much I Love You.

Christine (~8) read aloud from a second grade CLA textbook from Taiwan.

Christine (9) worked on reading comprehension. She was able to finish three passages in 4 minutes, an amazing speed!

Here are some of the comic books that we read almost daily!

I (12) read from a 5th grade CLA textbook.

I (12) re-read the Chinese edition of Reboot.

Christine (9) finished reading the Chinese edition of The Magic Tree House series.

I (12) finished reading the Chinese edition of the first three books of the Selection series.

I (12) read aloud a CLA textbook.

Christine (9) read aloud from a CLA textbook.

Christine (9) started reading the Chinese edition of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

I (12) started reading 6th grade CLA textbooks from Taiwan.

I (12) also started reading kungfu novel 神雕俠侶 by famed author 金庸 but needed zhuyin assistance in the beginning.

Christine (9) did read-aloud from a social studies textbook from Taiwan.