Don't forget to dance

Allen Say
Music for Alice
Houghton Mifflin, 2004

I can't help but hear that popular, nostalgic song by the Kinks, even though it's an odd juxtaposition to Allen Say's tribute to Alice Sumida. Alice and her husband, Mark, were to be interned along with all other Japanese-Americans during World War II, when an opportunity for farm work came along. They were prisoners, still, to the Oregon desert; but they survived and thrived. Say's bright image of their successful gladiola farm stays with us, just as it lingered in Alice's memory. As Alice reflects on her long life, she is a model of grace, dancing through her days.

American dream

Yin (author) and Chris Soentpiet (illustrator)

Brothers

Philomel, 2006

  A few weeks ago, I wrote about another book, Coolies, by this wife-and-husband team. Five years after that effort, Yin and Chris Soentpiet published this book Brothers. Like Coolies, Brothers features a pair of Chinese immigrant brothers, Shek and Ming. The story begins with Shek meeting his younger brother Ming who has just disembarked in San Francisco. When Shek finds extra work on a farm, Ming minds the store in Chinatown. Ming is not supposed to wander beyond the immediate neighborhood, but his curiosity gets the best of him. He meets a boy his age, Patrick O'Farrell, and their transcultural friendship eventually saves the family's store.
  Yin's story clearly chooses to focus on the possibilities of cooperative success (note the boys' excitement bursting in the illustration with a newly fashioned sign, "General Store, We Speak English"), instead of the dark stories of immigration and racism. It gives us reason to feel good, to hope, and to keep trying to make our world a better place. Chris Soentpiet's illustrations are, like Yin's story, finely crafted. There is evidence of generosity and care on every page of this satisfying story.

Tending the fire

Linda Sue Park (author)

Julie Downing (illustrator)

The Firekeeper's Son

Clarion, 2004

When Sang-hee's father injures his ankle, Sang-hee must assume responsibility for lighting the signal fire atop the mountain near his village. Imagining how exciting it might be to meet soldiers, Sang-hee hesitates. When he makes the right choice, he is rewarding with fiery visions of flaming warriors, as well as his father's pride. Linda Sue Park's story, based on pre-modern Korean defense system, invites children to imagine another time and place, and to confront an ethical choice. I don't know whether Sang-hee's clay figurines are based on Korean precedents, but Julie Downing's inclusion of these charming toys in her illustrations effectively engaged my kindergartener.

Thinking of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Amy Lee-Tai (author) and Felicia Hoshino (illustrator)
A Place Where Sunflowers Grow
Children's Book Press, 2006

Written bilingually (English and Japanese), A Place Where Sunflowers Grow tells the story of young Mari whose family, among many Japanese-Americans, have been interned at Topaz Relocation Center in Utah during World War II. Mari is sad and confused, but she and her community create activities and social rituals to rise above the injustice and indignity of living in communal barracks surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers. The Topaz Art School gives Mari a chance to make a new friend and express her longing for home. With her mother, she plants sunflower seeds, which despite the desert soil, grow, bloom, and bring happiness to the community.
  Amy Lee-Tai has based this hopeful story on the experiences of her mother and grandmother. Felicia Hoshino's illustrations wonderfully capture the wide range of Mari's thoughts and emotions. The internment of 120,000 Japanese-Americans is not an easy event to discuss with children, but as I'm thinking about Martin Luther King, Jr., today, I am reminded that it is important to make the effort. Books like these help enormously.