From the school library. This Friday is the last day to check out books, so I'll probably grab one or two more graphic novels and/or manga.
Title: Little White Duck: A Childhood In China
Publisher: Graphic Universe (Lerner Books)
Date: 2012
Writer: Na Liu, Andres Vera Martinez
Artist: Andres Vera Martinez
Letterer: Na Liu, Andres Vera Martinez
This is a collection of stories from the writer's childhood in China during the 1970s, beginning with the death of Chairman Mao Zedong. Events of the Cultural Revolution and the beginnings of China opening up to the world are seen through the eyes of a child who is focused on the day to day events of her life more than on the large scale events around her.
The stories are charming and the illustrations beautiful. There is family drama, and glimpses of both the traditional lifestyles and the transition into a modern economy.
The stories vary in tone quite a bit. One has the main character and her sister embarking on schemes to hunt rats after their school has demanded each student bring in a quota of four rat's tails as part of the campaign to eliminated the "four pests" (flies, mosquitoes, rats, and sparrows, which were later removed from the list and replaced by roaches).
Another story retells the traditional Chinese New Year myth, and then presents the New Year preparations and celebrations in the main characters family.
This is meant for a middle-grade audience, and it includes some basic Chinese vocabulary, maps, and a simple timeline of the history of China. Some young readers my be disturbed by some images of animals being killed (mostly for practical reasons, but there are some abusive behaviors involved).
I found this to be a well-written personal insight that was full of interesting detail. The individual vignettes don't have a lot of thematic connection, but they feel like the kind of things that an adult looking back on childhood would pick out when telling their story.
Rating: 8/10
Publisher: Graphic Universe (Lerner Books)
Date: 2012
Writer: Na Liu, Andres Vera Martinez
Artist: Andres Vera Martinez
Letterer: Na Liu, Andres Vera Martinez
This is a collection of stories from the writer's childhood in China during the 1970s, beginning with the death of Chairman Mao Zedong. Events of the Cultural Revolution and the beginnings of China opening up to the world are seen through the eyes of a child who is focused on the day to day events of her life more than on the large scale events around her.
The stories are charming and the illustrations beautiful. There is family drama, and glimpses of both the traditional lifestyles and the transition into a modern economy.
The stories vary in tone quite a bit. One has the main character and her sister embarking on schemes to hunt rats after their school has demanded each student bring in a quota of four rat's tails as part of the campaign to eliminated the "four pests" (flies, mosquitoes, rats, and sparrows, which were later removed from the list and replaced by roaches).
Another story retells the traditional Chinese New Year myth, and then presents the New Year preparations and celebrations in the main characters family.
This is meant for a middle-grade audience, and it includes some basic Chinese vocabulary, maps, and a simple timeline of the history of China. Some young readers my be disturbed by some images of animals being killed (mostly for practical reasons, but there are some abusive behaviors involved).
I found this to be a well-written personal insight that was full of interesting detail. The individual vignettes don't have a lot of thematic connection, but they feel like the kind of things that an adult looking back on childhood would pick out when telling their story.
Rating: 8/10
