by Janet Wong (2002)
This book, told in simple words from the perspective of a first-generation Chinese-American, makes the reader pause and think about what being American really means, without being heavy-handed in its message. The combination of chow mein and apple pie, even for the Chinese family running the restaurant, beautifully represents an amalgamation of cultures and traditions that make up America. The idea of working three hundred sixty-four days a year (and three hundred sixty-five in a leap year) also represents the long-held conception of America as a land of entrepreneurship - and opportunities. The prints by Margaret Chodos-Irvine are very striking and the representations of our glum narrator tell the story as much, if not more, than the words do.
This book, like many I have read, would fit nicely into an ESL classroom. This book not only tells the story of an immigrant family in the United States, but it also shows how two cultures can be intertwined, and two generations can come together in celebration -- even if their methods or timing are a bit disparate. For this reason I feel first generation Americans with foreign-born parents would relate to the story. I also feel that new immigrants would be interested in the story for this intertwining nature of culture, and the celebration of the 4th of July in itself. In the regular classroom this book could be used to discuss different types of families in America, as well as classic and contemporary symbols of the U.S.A.
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