Globalized

Carolyn Marsden
Silk Umbrellas
Candlewick, 2004

The effects of globalization, however vaunted by some policy-makers, seem to me not all that different from those of imperialism. We see the impact in Carolyn Marsden's story of Noi and her family. When local, agricultural land has been sold to real estate developers, Noi's father can no longer farm. He becomes a bricklayer, whose uncertain cash income must be supplemented by her mother's mosquito nets and her grandmother's painted umbrellas. When even that proves insufficient, Noi's older sister Ting is sent to do factory work. Ting solders a minute part into a radio, hour after hour, day after day. Noi is horrified and frightened...and motivated. With help and encouragement from her grandmother, Noi learns to paint umbrellas, continuing a family tradition. Marsden weaves Thai words and culture into a thoughtful and engaging story of a young girl growing up in a changing world.

Dress up, fit in

Carolyn Marsden

The Gold-Threaded Dress

Candlewick, 2002

Kun Pa's outstanding Thai cooking earned Oy's family the opportunity to move to America. That's where Oy, who is known at school as Olivia, is trying to fit in. Liliandra, the school's "queen bee," chances to see a photograph of Oy dressed in a gold-threaded, pink silk dress, looking just like a princess. Already imbued with Oy's memory and identity, the dress becomes an object of desire, contention, and humiliation. With her parent's loving support, Oy perseveres and learns to distinguish between true and false friends. The Gold-Threaded Dress is a short read, and while it is not especially subtle, it does introduce some complexity in human experience. When we first meet the character of Frankie, for example, he erroneously teases Oy for her "Chinese" appearance; at the book's end, he introduces Oy to his Chinese grandfather, Yeh-Yeh.