In Others' Words

Rosemary Wells
Yoko Writes Her Name
Hyperion, 2008

In an earlier book, Yoko was singled out for the strange ethnic foods she brought to school. This time, Yoko's way of writing her name in Japanese hiragana ようこ, and numbers in Japanese kanji 一二三, leads to more teasing from her schoolmates. Their ignorance and unkindness leave Yoko worried that she might not graduate from kindergarten, though it is only the first week of school. The next day, Yoko reads a Japanese book to the class, and although most react negatively, Angelo is curious. He and Yoko teach each other, and soon their enthusiasm spreads to their classmates. Rosemary Wells' cheerful illustrations are bordered by patterns inspired by Japanese textile design and punctuated with paired, bilingual picture flashcards of everyday things like dog いぬ and hand て.

In or Out?

Margy Burns Knight (author)

Anne Sibley O'Brien (illustrator)

Talking Walls

Tilbury, 1992

Margy Burns Knight's Talking Walls begins with a poetic musing by Robert Frost: "Before I built a wall I'd ask to know/ What I was walling in or walling out...." Following that thought, Knight takes us on a journey to fourteen walls from around the world and different times in human history. The earliest are found in the caves of Lascaux, adorned with images of horses, bison, and antelope dating to more than 17,000 years ago. These images spur us to wonder about early human communities and ways of life. Prison walls held Nelson Mandela captive until February 1990, and in this case the walls ask us to confront difficult, but important questions of freedom and justice. The book ends decidedly upbeat, with the tearing down of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. Asia has somewhat limited representation with just two examples:  the Great Wall of China and the relief sculpture at Mammallapuram. (A sequel includes another three. Review coming soon.)

  By design, Talking Walls cannot delve deeply into any one particular wall and its historical context. Instead, the underlying theme yokes together diverse expressions of human cultures with our common humanity. It invites further exploration and discussion, and those with an interest may inquire with Tilbury for teachers' guides.

Brownies with Green Tea Ice Cream

Rosemary Wells

Yoko

Hyperion, 1998

Yoko's morning begins with her mother lovingly packing a homemade sushi lunchbox (would that we were all so lucky!). Morning in Mrs. Jenkin's class passes quickly, and soon it's lunchtime. Rosemary Wells lists every child's food, from Fritz' meatball grinder to Doris' squeeze cheese on white bread. Predictably, Yoko's ethnic lunch becomes the object of unwanted, disapproving attention. "Yuck-o-rama!" seems to be the consensus. At recess, Mrs. Jenkins tries to reassure Yoko, expressing hopefully that the children will forget the lunch incident. But nothing changes at snack time when Yoko's azuki bean ice cream becomes the target. Fortunately, Mrs. Jenkins has a plan, International Food Day. Yoko's sushi doesn't get the immediate attention it should, but hungry Timothy is won over. By day's end, the two are busy creating an eclectic menu for their imaginary restaurant. 

  I am reminded of a recent study about how one friend can make all the difference. It does for Yoko. 

DIY

Lance Kramer (author)
Steven Weinberg (illustrator)
Great Ancient China Projects You Can Build Yourself
Nomad, 2008

If you have crafty, hands-on kids in your life, Great Ancient China Projects combines a little bit of history, lore, and culture with a variety of scientific and artistic things to do. The book reminds me of a workbook, and probably could be useful for lesson planning, home schooling, and the like. The layout is a bit too cluttered for my taste (more is not necessarily more), with somewhat perfunctory illustrations (sometimes odd, as when ink drawings of bronze vessels accompanies a chapter on silk and jade), and the occasional inexplicable looks-like-a-character-but-isn't (fengshui is 風水). But, if you don't mind picking and choosing for yourself, it could be a good resource for making paper, a mini terracotta army, a compass, noodles, and more. The book's aim is to get you out of the book and into your project, after all.

What, no food?!

Grace Lin

Kite Flying

Dell Dragonfly, 2002

Kite Flying follows the winning Grace Lin formula in all but one surprising aspect: the food (or lack thereof). Mother, Father, and sisters purchase craft materials to assemble a bright bewhiskered dragon-faced kite together. Nice touches include the endpaper illustrations with raw ingredients (glue, sandpaper, string and so forth) in the front, and then finished products and their symbolism in the end (bee kite for industry, goldfish kite for abundance, etc.). Italic font sympathetically bends to the breeze.

chu, chu! (giddy-up!)

Ted and Betsy Lewin

Horse Song: The Naadam of Mongolia

Lee and Low, 2008

  The gorgeous illustration on the first-page, imitating an exotic and well-browsed book, tells us that we are about to enter another world. Horse Song records in vivid words and images Ted and Betsy Lewin's journey to Mongolia to witness the Nadaam festival. The festival features a race in which middle-school-aged children ride semi-wild horses fourteen miles in the Gobi desert. Through the Lewins' travelogue we enter in the everyday rhythms of Mongolian life, like making curds from mare's milk, and hear of common dreams like winning the horse race. We learn about cultural expectations as when we squeeze alongside the Lewins into a tent so as to accept the hospitality offered us; and we experience in the curious gazes of our Mongolian hosts ourselves as Other. And, of course, there is the horse race, and there is no escape from a narrative that accelerates to a full-gallop finish. 

  The book marvelously transports us to another culture on another continent, and we hope one day to make use of the extra facts and the glossary the Lewins share with us.

Think different

Ippo Keido (retelling) and Kazuko G. Stone (illustrations)
The Butterfly's Dream
Tuttle, 2003

Ippo Keido uses the story of Chuang-tzu's (Zhuangzi 莊子) dream to enfold a series of other stories about vision. We see by turns the vast viewpoint of the giant fish-bird and the circumscribed world of the frog sitting in the depths of the well. Although I've heard it many times, I can't help but laugh at the tale of the monkey trainer, who satisfies his simian charges by reversing the daily regimen of 3 chestnuts in the morning and 4 chestnuts in the evening. Keido rounds out the stories with the "wooden" rooster whose power is hidden behind stealthy discipline; the useless tree, which thrives because it is too crooked, too heavy, and too hard for commercial use; and Hui-tzu's giant gourds, which outgrow conventional purposes. The lesson is to think differently. Kazuko Stone's illustrations are occasionally awkward, as when an emperor hovers at odd corners near the rooster-training exercises or when the so-called useless tree looks not at all crooked. But, the color and charm will be engaging for readers young and old, just as these Daoist tales continue to offer relevant, trenchant lessons.