MY BEST FRIEND DUC TRAN: Meeting a Vietnamese-American Family

by Dianne & Dorothy Freeman MacMillan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1987

In the guise of fiction, a brief introduction to a transplanted culture. Ten-year-old Eddie Johnson describes his new friend's family and their exotic customs, celebrations, and food in a narrative nearly devoid of plot, differentiated characters or natural-sounding dialogue (Duc: ""My father says our family is our strength and we each have a responsibility to help""). Eddie is taken to a Vietnamese-American shopping center, restaurant, school and Tet celebration; readers who go along will find plenty of simplified information, though the less pleasant aspects of recent Vietnamese history skip quickly past. Pencil illustrations are few, figures in them stiffly posed. Vietnamese words are printed with diacritical marks (though there is no guide to pronunciation), and and a brief booklist is appended. The subject is topical, but the presentation doesn't mask a didactic flavor.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 39

Publisher: Messner

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1987

Categories: CHILDREN'S