A year to grow

Andrea Cheng (author) and Nicole Wong (illustrator)
Only One Year
Lee and Low, 2010

Here are two things—a word and an image—that made Andrea Cheng's new chapter book about difference, family, and love one of the finest books I have read. The word is "weird," which is loaded with unspoken intimations of fear. She uses the word just once. Uttered by  a child's friend, it clearly polices the boundary between acceptable and dubious. Sharon, invokes her mother's reasoning to defend against the stinging charge, but it's clear that the ideas and emotions behind "weird" are not easily changed. Cheng has me on the alert now for this word. The image is a sliced apple, with some slices placed at one side of a plate opposite the others. Mama tells her children Sharon (4th grade), Mary (1st grade), Di Di (a preschooler), and us that the slices may be far apart but like family in the US and family in China, they make one circle. One circle that nourishes its members, as Di Di gobbles down the apple. The image captures the book's narrative and its themes.

There is much more to recommended Only One Year—from the thoughtful treatment of the difficult decision to send Di Di to live with his grandparents in Shanghai for a year to the recurring images of childhood play that transform everyday objects and activities into opportunities to stretch the imagination and to express love. The book is refreshingly devoid of cynicism and status markers. It challenges us all to overcome our fears and egos, to forgive ourselves and others, and to make meaningful relationships with each other.

For more about author Andrea Cheng, go to her website: http://www.andreacheng.com/home