Pioneers

Yin (author)

Chris Soentpiet (illustrator)

Coolies

Philomel, 2001

Yin tells the story of the building of the transcontinental railroad through two brothers, Shek and Wong. The two flee the turmoil and famine of 19th-century China, cross the Pacific, and begin lives of bitter labor. Alongside hundreds of countrymen, they endure hardship and racism. Never losing their dignity or humanity, Shek and Wong help to complete the railroad, settle in San Francisco, and assist family to immigrate to the United States. Yin effectively uses the voices of later descendants—a young Chinese-American boy and his grandmother, PawPaw 婆婆—to capture our attention and transport us to the past. Chris Soentpiet's illustrations are sumptuous, grand, dramatic, and deeply moving.