I've gone book shopping twice in the last month. With a child like L--, a library or a bookstore is a fixture in life. She had a library while she was in school, where she chose a new book every day. This is her picture of heaven. Now that school has stopped, she spends time staring at the book shelves, trying to find one she hasn't read yet.
So, at the beginning of July I took her to a bookstore. This is not just the bookstore on the corner, of course. This is a bookstore which sells English language books. This means imports, and they sell at a premium. We bought 5 paperback children's books - and paid 341 RMB. That's about $11 per book.
Then last week I heard about a little shop run out of someone's apartment. Places like this are what shopping in China is all about. It seems like to us that the owner of the apartment is somehow connected to a children's publisher. Because this is no bookstore. This is piles of books, and boxes of books, where each book costs 15 RMB. That's about $2.50 per book. I spent 428 RMB and came out with a stack of books so high I could barely walk.
And my little girl is back in heaven again.
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