An important and complex period in American history geared to young readers.
The history of Chinese American plaintiff Wong Kim Ark and the landmark 1898 Supreme Court decision that held that all people born on U.S. soil are citizens of the United States.
This biography of Wong Kim Ark doubles as a primer on Chinese American and American-immigrant history of the late 19th century. Born in San Francisco to immigrant parents from China, Wong believed in his heart, “I am an American” (as the book’s titular refrain proudly repeats). Plain, short sentences teach readers about immigrant life, racism, and Wong’s personal story. The question of Wong’s citizenship comes to a head when he travels to China to visit and is detained upon his return, despite his bearing a document signed by three White witnesses swearing that he was born in California. Eventually his case “went all the way to the highest court in the land” to decide: “What makes someone American?” Of course, Wong won, and “his victory changed the nation.” Told in simple, spare language, the book is an introduction for very young children to this angle of America’s racist past. The result is a narrative and discourse with gaps, and curious older readers will have questions. The four pages of backmatter may help, including more details of Wong’s life, the court case, American citizenship, and a timeline that combines Wong’s significant dates and general Chinese American history. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An important and complex period in American history geared to young readers. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-42692-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Lovely illustrations wasted on this misguided project.
The Celebrate the World series spotlights Lunar New Year.
This board book blends expository text and first-person-plural narrative, introducing readers to the holiday. Chau’s distinctive, finely textured watercolor paintings add depth, transitioning smoothly from a grand cityscape to the dining room table, from fantasies of the past to dumplings of the present. The text attempts to provide a broad look at the subject, including other names for the celebration, related cosmology, and historical background, as well as a more-personal discussion of traditions and practices. Yet it’s never clear who the narrator is—while the narrative indicates the existence of some consistent, monolithic group who participates in specific rituals of celebration (“Before the new year celebrations begin, we clean our homes—and ourselves!”), the illustrations depict different people in every image. Indeed, observances of Lunar New Year are as diverse as the people who celebrate it, which neither the text nor the images—all of the people appear to be Asian—fully acknowledges. Also unclear is the book’s intended audience. With large blocks of explication on every spread, it is entirely unappealing for the board-book set, and the format may make it equally unattractive to an older, more appropriate audience. Still, readers may appreciate seeing an important celebration warmly and vibrantly portrayed.
Lovely illustrations wasted on this misguided project. (Board book. 4-8)Pub Date: Dec. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3303-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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