LSSL 5361
Book Reviews
Culture #5
Book #1
Lin, G. (2016). Where
the mountain meets the moon. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN
9780316038638
This books tells the story of a young girl who embarks
on a journey to help her family. Minli,
a poor Chinese girl lives in valley in Fruitless Mountain; where everything is
grey and dull. Minli goes on an amazing
journey to try to bring prosperity to her family and to her village.
This book is a great read in that every chapter deals
with stories from Chinese folklore and fantasy.
We are able to learn different customs and stories that are part of
Chinese legends and stories. It reminds
me of “dichos” that are common to most Hispanic Americans. The book also creates a great role model for
young girls and gives them a true heroine.
The review can be found at https://www.thebooksmugglers.com/2012/06/book-review-where-the-mountain-meets-the-moon-by-gracie-lin.html
Grace Lin, author of the beloved Year of the Dog and
Year of the Rat, returns with a wondrous story of happiness, family, and
friendship. A fantasy crossed with Chinese folklore, Where the Mountain Meets
the Moon is a timeless adventure story in the classic tradition of The Wizard
of Oz. In the Valley of Fruitless Mountain, a young girl named Minli spends her
days working hard in the fields and her nights listening to her father spin
fantastic tales about the Jade Dragon and the Old Man of the Moon. Minli’s
mother, tired of their poor life, chides him for filling her head with nonsense. But Minli believes these
enchanting stories and embarks on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man
of the Moon and ask him how her family can change their fortune. She encounters
an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a
dragon who accompanies her on her quest.
Readers will also enjoy Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin; A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle; and Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O’Dell
Book #2
The book tells the story
of Summer and her brother Jaz and their times living with their grandparents. Their parents are end moving to Japan due to
an emergency and they must know live with their grandparents right before
harvest time. Their grandparents are
traditionalists which does not sit well with Summer. We are able to see the life Summer and Jaz
must endure with Obaachan and Jiichan, who are now out of retirement, to take
care of their grandchildren
This book is one that
will appeal to many people; especially those have been raised by the
grandparents. You are able to relate to Summer
no matter what culture you are. For
those that are migrants; you will also be able to relate to what life is like
moving from one farm to the other. This
books speaks well for many children and we are also able to understand some of
the traditions that are instilled into this family.
Review can be found at https://www.thebooksmugglers.com/2013/11/book-review-the-thing-about-luck-by-cynthia-kadohata.html
There is bad luck, good
luck, and making your own luck—which is exactly what Summer must do to save her
family in this novel from Newbery Medalist Cynthia Kadohata.
Summer knows that kouun
means “good luck” in Japanese, and this year her family has none of it. Just
when she thinks nothing else can possibly go wrong, an emergency whisks her
parents away to Japan—right before harvest season. Summer and her little
brother, Jaz, are left in the care of their grandparents, who come out of
retirement in order to harvest wheat and help pay the bills. The thing about
Obaachan and Jiichan is that they are old-fashioned and demanding, and between
helping Obaachan cook for the workers, covering for her when her back pain
worsens, and worrying about her lonely little brother, Summer just barely has
time to notice the attentions of their boss’s cute son. But notice she does,
and what begins as a welcome distraction from the hard work soon turns into a
mess of its own. Having thoroughly disappointed her grandmother, Summer figures
the bad luck must be finished—but then it gets worse. And when that happens,
Summer has to figure out how to change it herself, even if it means further
displeasing Obaachan.
Because it might be the only way to save her family
Readers will also enjoy Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated
Adventures by Kate DiCamillo; When
You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead; and Counting
by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan.
Book #3
Say, A. (2013). Tea with milk. Columbus, O.H.: Zaner-Bloser. ISBN 9780547237473
This book tells the story of a young Japanese girl,
May, who lived and was raised following American traditions and customs in San
Francisco. Her family decided one day to
move back to their home country of Japan; where May would have to follow the
traditions and customs that a young Japanese lady would have to follow;
beginning with using her traditional Japanese name of Masako. The book looks at how May/Masako deals with
her new life and ultimately what she must do to be happy.
The books is illustrated with beautiful pictures that
helps the author convey how life for May/Masako must have been in her new life
in Japan. We are able to learn of
traditions that every young lady in Japan must learn; which includes the
traditional tea ceremony and flower arranging.
We also are witness to see how May/Masako is made to feel by people that
believe her to be a foreigner in her home country.
The following review can be found at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/437923.Tea_with_Milk
In Tea with milk, Allen Say speaks eloquently about
the cross cultural conflict between traditional Japanese values and American
values. Using his trademark beautiful watercolor images to support the text,
Say tells the story of a young girl, May, who was raised in San Francisco but
moves to Japan with her mother and father who are returning home. Young May
struggles to find her place in her parents’ home and finally makes a friend who
is enduring a similar struggle. Say surprises readers with a twist at the end
of the plot line ensuring that the words remain with the reader long after.
Readers will also enjoy The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland; My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco; and Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say.
Book #4
Young, E., &
Koponen, L. (2011). The house
Baba built: An artists childhood in China. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN
9780316076289
This book tells the story of Ed Young and his family as
to how they lived in Shanghai during the war.
They lived in a temporary home, in which his father built on land that
belonged to someone else. His father
made a deal that he would build the house; where his family would live for 20
years; and then it would revert back to the land owner. We are privileged to be witness to their lives
during World War II.
This book is part picture book, part family album, and
part historical reference. The book lets
the reader know the traditions, struggles and life of people living in
Shanghai, during World War II. We are privileged
to see how Ed Young lived with his family in a temporary home while life around
the world was in shambles. Any reader
will be able to find comfort in how the love of family is one that is universal
and not that different from your own.
Review can be found at https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-316-07628-9
In this picture book memoir by the Caldecott Medalist,
which opens in 1931 (the year he was born), the stock market has crashed, and
China is in turmoil. Young’s father, Baba, persuades a landowner in Shanghai to
let him construct a huge brick house on his land; Baba promises to return the
house after 20 years, long enough to keep his family safe until WWII ends.
Young’s creation, shaped with help from author Libby Koponen, is as complex and
labyrinthine as Baba’s house, with foldout pages that open to reveal drawings,
photos, maps, and memories. Tender portraits of his siblings, torn-paper
collages showing tiny figures at play, and old photos of stylish adults
intermingle, as if they’d been found forgotten in a drawer. Young’s fans will
savor stories of his East-West childhood; he and his four siblings raise
silkworms, watch Westerns, train fighting crickets, and dance the conga when
the war finally ends 14 years later. “Life,” Baba writes to his children, “is
not rich not real unless you partake life with your fellow man”; Young set the
course of his life by his father’s words. It’s history at its most personal.
Readers will also enjoy Drawing from Memory by Allen Say; Blackout by John Rocco; and The
Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis.
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