Tea With Milk
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Say, Allen. 1999. TEA WITH MILK. Boston:Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 9780395904954.
Say, Allen. 1999. TEA WITH MILK. Boston:Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 9780395904954.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
May or Masako, raised in San Francisco, moves back to Japan with her parents and finds herself missing her "American" life and feeling confined by the expectations of her parents.
May or Masako, raised in San Francisco, moves back to Japan with her parents and finds herself missing her "American" life and feeling confined by the expectations of her parents.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Say's portrayal of a young Japanese American who feels like a foreigner in Japan, is a great example of the complexity of a multicultural experience. The main character, May, does not embrace her parents' homeland. She was raised in America until her parents decided to move when she graduated from high school. Say begins the story with a a black and white watercolor painting of May as a young child standing in front of her house with an American flag mounted near the door. She has a content look on her face and is dressed in American style clothing. The second illustration shows Masako standing awkwardly dressed in a kimono with a very sad expression on her face. She misses her American home, her lifestyle and "pancakes and omelets, fried chicken and spaghetti." The customs and past times of Japan do not interest her, "Her new home was drafty, with windows made of paper. She had to wear kimonos and sit on floors until her legs went numb. No one called her May and Masako sounded like someone else's name."
May's struggles are not only those associated with a cross cultural experience. She is also a young woman who has aspirations and opportunities that are not shared by her mother's generation. It is more acceptable for a young woman of May's generation to seek employment outside of the home and to fill roles in the workplace and at home that are not traditional. She feels boxed in by her parents expectations that she take lessons in flower arranging, calligraphy and the tea ceremony. She rebels, "Why do I have to do this?" she exclaimed one day. "I'm not going to be a florist or a sign painter! And I like my tea with milk and sugar." She clearly is a modern women and she asserts this to her mother, "All I want is to go to college and then have an apartment of my won."
Say expertly weaves the experiences and influences of May's cross cultural character. When May applies for a job a a department store, she feels thankful to her mother for the calligraphy lessons! Say emphasizes the changing roles of Japanese women in his illustration of the department store where May finds a job; he depicts Japanese women dressed in western clothing working behind the counter, with customers dressed in kimonos. May is in the foreground dressed in her stylish American clothes with short haircut. Although the ending seems fairy tale, it is not unrealistic for May to have found a mate in a similar situation. Joseph was raised by English foster parents and attended an English school. His perception of "home" is even more untraditional than May's: "May, home isn't a place or a building that's ready-made and waiting for you, in America or anywhere else."
Anyone who has ever felt ostracized, the generation gap, a need for autonomy, and a sense of belonging will find this story very satisfying and reassuring.
Say's training in architecture are obvious in is paintings of buildings and houses. With clean lines and special attention to architectural details as seen in both his paintings of traditional wooden Japanese houses and his paintings of the interior and exteriors of modern Japanese buildings.
Say's portrayal of a young Japanese American who feels like a foreigner in Japan, is a great example of the complexity of a multicultural experience. The main character, May, does not embrace her parents' homeland. She was raised in America until her parents decided to move when she graduated from high school. Say begins the story with a a black and white watercolor painting of May as a young child standing in front of her house with an American flag mounted near the door. She has a content look on her face and is dressed in American style clothing. The second illustration shows Masako standing awkwardly dressed in a kimono with a very sad expression on her face. She misses her American home, her lifestyle and "pancakes and omelets, fried chicken and spaghetti." The customs and past times of Japan do not interest her, "Her new home was drafty, with windows made of paper. She had to wear kimonos and sit on floors until her legs went numb. No one called her May and Masako sounded like someone else's name."
May's struggles are not only those associated with a cross cultural experience. She is also a young woman who has aspirations and opportunities that are not shared by her mother's generation. It is more acceptable for a young woman of May's generation to seek employment outside of the home and to fill roles in the workplace and at home that are not traditional. She feels boxed in by her parents expectations that she take lessons in flower arranging, calligraphy and the tea ceremony. She rebels, "Why do I have to do this?" she exclaimed one day. "I'm not going to be a florist or a sign painter! And I like my tea with milk and sugar." She clearly is a modern women and she asserts this to her mother, "All I want is to go to college and then have an apartment of my won."
Say expertly weaves the experiences and influences of May's cross cultural character. When May applies for a job a a department store, she feels thankful to her mother for the calligraphy lessons! Say emphasizes the changing roles of Japanese women in his illustration of the department store where May finds a job; he depicts Japanese women dressed in western clothing working behind the counter, with customers dressed in kimonos. May is in the foreground dressed in her stylish American clothes with short haircut. Although the ending seems fairy tale, it is not unrealistic for May to have found a mate in a similar situation. Joseph was raised by English foster parents and attended an English school. His perception of "home" is even more untraditional than May's: "May, home isn't a place or a building that's ready-made and waiting for you, in America or anywhere else."
Anyone who has ever felt ostracized, the generation gap, a need for autonomy, and a sense of belonging will find this story very satisfying and reassuring.
Say's training in architecture are obvious in is paintings of buildings and houses. With clean lines and special attention to architectural details as seen in both his paintings of traditional wooden Japanese houses and his paintings of the interior and exteriors of modern Japanese buildings.
4. REVIEWS
Publishers Weekly: "Say's masterfully executed watercolors tell as much of this story about a young woman's challenging transition from America to Japan as his eloquent, economical prose. "
School Library Journal: "This is a thoughtful and poignant book that will appeal to a wide range of readers, particularly our nation's many immigrants who grapple with some of the same challenges as May and Joseph, including feeling at home in a place that is not their own."
5. CONNECTIONSPublishers Weekly: "Say's masterfully executed watercolors tell as much of this story about a young woman's challenging transition from America to Japan as his eloquent, economical prose. "
School Library Journal: "This is a thoughtful and poignant book that will appeal to a wide range of readers, particularly our nation's many immigrants who grapple with some of the same challenges as May and Joseph, including feeling at home in a place that is not their own."
Use this book with older ESL students, from middle to high school, to encourage them to write about their own experiences living in a new culture.
Pair this with Say's other autobiographical works like: Tree of Cranes, Grandfather's Journey and The Sign Painter.
Year of the Dog
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lin, Grace. YEAR OF THE DOG. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN: 9780316060004.
Lin, Grace. YEAR OF THE DOG. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN: 9780316060004.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
A story of cultural integration where young Pacy, a Taiwanese American girl, celebrates the Chinese New Year.
A story of cultural integration where young Pacy, a Taiwanese American girl, celebrates the Chinese New Year.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Grace Lin includes an abundance of cultural markers that connect this story with the experience of a Taiwanese American family living in the United States. The story begins with Pacy's father wishing relatives from Taiwan a Happy New Year, "Gong xi-gong xi! Xin-nian kuai le!" The customs and foods around the Chinese New Year are described in rich details, as Pacy's family prepares for the celebration.The Year of the Dog, Pacy is told, is the year that "you find your best friends." It's also the year, she's told by her mother, "to find yourself." Through anecdotes told by her mom, we get her mother's parallel childhood experiences in Taiwan, which help Pacy to navigate her own challenges as a young person. When Pacy is teased by other Asian girls for not knowing how to speak the language and for being Americanized her mother tells her:
Lin includes simple drawings through-out the book that are amusing and I think, could make and excellent graphic novel.
4. REVIEWS
Grace Lin includes an abundance of cultural markers that connect this story with the experience of a Taiwanese American family living in the United States. The story begins with Pacy's father wishing relatives from Taiwan a Happy New Year, "Gong xi-gong xi! Xin-nian kuai le!" The customs and foods around the Chinese New Year are described in rich details, as Pacy's family prepares for the celebration.The Year of the Dog, Pacy is told, is the year that "you find your best friends." It's also the year, she's told by her mother, "to find yourself." Through anecdotes told by her mom, we get her mother's parallel childhood experiences in Taiwan, which help Pacy to navigate her own challenges as a young person. When Pacy is teased by other Asian girls for not knowing how to speak the language and for being Americanized her mother tells her:
"But that is why I wanted you to have friends from our culture, ..."Because it's easier when you know people who understand. "
"But just because they're Chinese doesn't mean they're the same as me," I said. "I don't think they understand at all."
"That's true," Mom said. "But because they Chinese they are more likely to understand. Look at you and Melody. Don't you think she understands?"
Pacy is not convinced:
"It's not fair. To Americans, I'm too Chinese, and to Chinese people, I'm too American. So which one am I supposed to be?"
"Neither and both," Mom told me. "you don't have to be more one than the other, you're Chinese American."
"Or Taiwanese-American," I complained. It's so confusing."In this innocent and loving dialogue, Lin makes huge progress in representing an Asian culture honestly with all it's complexities and none of the standard stereotypes. She makes the important distinction between being Chinese and Taiwanese allowing for readers to understand the diversity within the Asian cultures. Pacy's story also includes themes that are typical of those of any young girl: friendship, sibling relationships, and schoolwork. She avoids even some of the more "positive" stereotypes often attached to characters of Asian descent, like being shy, obedient and excellent at math.
Lin includes simple drawings through-out the book that are amusing and I think, could make and excellent graphic novel.
4. REVIEWS
School Library Journal: "This is an enjoyable chapter book with easily identifiable characters."
Booklist: "Lin does a remarkable job capturing the soul and the spirit of books like those of Hayward or Maud Hart Lovelace, reimagining them through the lens of her own story, and transforming their special qualities into something new for today's young readers."
5. CONNECTIONS
Pair this book with the sequel, "The Year of the Rat."
This is a great choice for ESL students who may be living what Pacy is experiencing in the story.Booklist: "Lin does a remarkable job capturing the soul and the spirit of books like those of Hayward or Maud Hart Lovelace, reimagining them through the lens of her own story, and transforming their special qualities into something new for today's young readers."
5. CONNECTIONS
Pair this book with the sequel, "The Year of the Rat."
Ask students to write about their own experiences trying to assimilate into a new culture.
Pair with Mary Hoffman's book, Amazing Grace.
Tan to Tamarind: Poems about the Color Brown, By Malathi Michelle Iyengar
2010 APALA Honorable Mention for Picture Book
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Iyengar, Malathi. 2009. TAN TO TAMARIND: POEMS ABOUT THE COLOR BROWN. Ill. by Jamel Akib. San Francisco: Children's Book Press. ISBN:9780892392279.
Iyengar, Malathi. 2009. TAN TO TAMARIND: POEMS ABOUT THE COLOR BROWN. Ill. by Jamel Akib. San Francisco: Children's Book Press. ISBN:9780892392279.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
A collection of fifteen poems which celebrate the many shades of brown in skin tone and in nature.
A collection of fifteen poems which celebrate the many shades of brown in skin tone and in nature.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The smiling brown children on the cover illustration of this collection warmly invites the reader to join in a celebration! The children are embracing each other in solidarity. In the author's notes Iyengar reveals that she was shamed by classmates for being brown; "Every day at the bus stop a group of older kids would call me names and make fun of my brown skin, saying brown was a dirty, ugly color. I longed to trade in my brown complexion for peachy-pink." This book, then, is testament to her overcoming those taunts. Tan to Tamarind is a poetic affirmation that reinforces the fact that brown is beautiful, in all of it varied shades:
"Brown./My face./Milk-tea brown./I am brown./ I am beautiful./Brown./Your face./Sienna brown/or coca brown,/cafe con leche brown or/radiant ocher brown."
These poems carry cultural markers that connect to a variety of East Indian cultures. Children will be intrigued with new words like masala, mehendi, sandalwood and tamarind.Each illustration is a two page spread done in pastels, and feature children whose skin tones vary from topaz, to bay, to sepia, to ocher to beige. These colors are not as distinct as they could be, but the poems descriptive language fills in the blanks that the illustrations may create. For example, for the poem entitled, "Ocher" we learn in the first stanza that ocher is a "vivid orange-brown." If a child has never heard of beige, the poem helps: "Brown./Beige brown./ Warm and scratchy, sandy brown."
In her essay, "The Candle and the Mirror: One Author's Journey as an Outsider," Judi Moreillon says, "All children deserve literature that reflects the cultural diversity of our society and world." I think Malathi Michelle Iyengar and Jamel Akib offer children this diversity in this wonderful book.
The smiling brown children on the cover illustration of this collection warmly invites the reader to join in a celebration! The children are embracing each other in solidarity. In the author's notes Iyengar reveals that she was shamed by classmates for being brown; "Every day at the bus stop a group of older kids would call me names and make fun of my brown skin, saying brown was a dirty, ugly color. I longed to trade in my brown complexion for peachy-pink." This book, then, is testament to her overcoming those taunts. Tan to Tamarind is a poetic affirmation that reinforces the fact that brown is beautiful, in all of it varied shades:
"Brown./My face./Milk-tea brown./I am brown./ I am beautiful./Brown./Your face./Sienna brown/or coca brown,/cafe con leche brown or/radiant ocher brown."
These poems carry cultural markers that connect to a variety of East Indian cultures. Children will be intrigued with new words like masala, mehendi, sandalwood and tamarind.Each illustration is a two page spread done in pastels, and feature children whose skin tones vary from topaz, to bay, to sepia, to ocher to beige. These colors are not as distinct as they could be, but the poems descriptive language fills in the blanks that the illustrations may create. For example, for the poem entitled, "Ocher" we learn in the first stanza that ocher is a "vivid orange-brown." If a child has never heard of beige, the poem helps: "Brown./Beige brown./ Warm and scratchy, sandy brown."
In her essay, "The Candle and the Mirror: One Author's Journey as an Outsider," Judi Moreillon says, "All children deserve literature that reflects the cultural diversity of our society and world." I think Malathi Michelle Iyengar and Jamel Akib offer children this diversity in this wonderful book.
4. REVIEWS
School Library Journal: "This exploration of the diversity within the spectrum of brown is a lovely tribute to the color."
Booklist: "Illustrated with pastel pictures in warm autumn colors, both dark and light, the simple poems celebrate the diversity and the connections in nature, culture, place, and language among blacks, Latinos, Indians, Native Americans, and many mixed-race kids."
5. CONNECTIONS
Pair with Langston Hughes's book, My People.
School Library Journal: "This exploration of the diversity within the spectrum of brown is a lovely tribute to the color."
Booklist: "Illustrated with pastel pictures in warm autumn colors, both dark and light, the simple poems celebrate the diversity and the connections in nature, culture, place, and language among blacks, Latinos, Indians, Native Americans, and many mixed-race kids."
5. CONNECTIONS
Pair with Langston Hughes's book, My People.
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