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Julie Black Belt:  The Kung Fu Chronicles, by Oliver Chin, is a lovely story about a young Asian American girl who is learning about the challenges of Kung Fu.  Asianmommy.com received a PDF version of this book for free.

The book begins with Julie's parents asking her if she wants to try out kung fu.  Julie thinks that she knows everything about kung fu, since she always watches her favorite actress, Brandy Wu, in her kung fu action movies.  On the first day of class, Mr. Fong, her teacher, passes out the white belts and teaches the students how to bow and salute.   As Mr. Fong watches Julie struggle with the basic moves, he says to her, "A black belt is just a white belt that doesn't quit."  After months of training hard and learning not to give up, the day of the test comes.  Will Julie be able to earn her yellow belt?

What I liked:  This story emphasizes the importance of working hard and not giving up when striving to reach your goals.  I liked how the author shows a girl gaining self-confidence while learning self-defense.  I also love the beautiful illustrations by Charlene Chua, which bring the story to life.  My girls really enjoyed this story.

What could be improved:  I would love the book more if they included a few Chinese characters with the pinyin and English translations.