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Booktalk
#1
The Chinese-American protagonist
of this story can’t seem to make her parents understand that Americans
don’t want Chinese food on the 4th of July. Apple pie and fireworks,
perhaps, but Chinese food? No! Already disgusted because her parents’
restaurant is open every day of the year, the speaker mopes around the
restaurant all day with an “I told you so” attitude toward her parents.
No one comes to buy Chinese food . . . until after the parade. At
5:00, the people start coming, and there is a steady stream of them until
closing time. After the restaurant closes, this little girl and her
family go up to the rooftop to watch the fireworks and eat apple pie.
Janet Wong effectively captures the situation of many young hyphenated
Americans who feel torn between the traditions of their parents’ culture
and contemporary American traditions. Chodos-Irvine’s colorful, angular
illustrations help to convey the story simply and without sentimentality.
(Michelle Martin, South Carolina
Book Awards, 2006)
Booktalk #2
This particular book was intriguing
since I myself am a foreigner in this great country called America. As
the little character in the book emotionally expresses on the Fourth of
July, "my parents do not understand all American things" I am reminded
of a culture that is not mine, but that I have grown to embrace. She continues:
"I cannot expect them to know Americans do not eat Chinese food on the
Fourth of July", as though expressing a sense of being caught between two
distinct cultures.
This book simply illustrates
the view of a Chinese girl who can't stop being Chinese, and will never
become American. It is well written and with language that any elementary
student understands. It is a great look into the world of immigrant families
who hold on tight to their own culture while struggling to immerse themselves
into the American way. It was great to see in the end that Americans do
eat Chinese food on the Fourth of July, just as much as Chinese eat Apple
Pie while the fireworks show. (Mauricio Cadavid, college student,
mcadavid@csusb.edu) |
