Say, Allen. 1991. Tree of cranes. New York: Hyperion Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 039552024X

PLOT SUMMARY

The main character in the story begins his narration by remembering the last day he visited the pond that was close to his home. Although his mother had warned him of the dangers many times, he still went. The day was cold and gray, “too cold for the fish to move around”. Instead of watching fish, he caught a chill. When he got home, he was surprised that his mother was not there to greet him because she had always greeted him before. He found her in the living room folding origami paper into cranes. After a hot lunch of rice gruel, the boy finds his mother in the garden digging up the tree that was planted to celebrate the boy’s birth. The confused boy promises to sit quietly if his mother will explain why she has been acting strange on this day—“seven days before the New Year’s Day”. His mother explains that in California where she grew up, this was a very special day. Everywhere you looked you would see trees decorated with bright lights and globes of gold and silver. The boy listens quietly as his mother explains Christmas and its traditions and falls asleep dreaming of a samurai kite. The paintings by Say afford serenity and peace to this touching tale of a mother sharing her childhood memories of a special season with her son.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

Tree of Cranes is a tribute to the American holiday of Christmas, told by a master storyteller who understands both the American customs of Christmas and the Japanese customs of respecting your elders. With this story, Say effectively spins a bridge that spans the two cultures, giving readers a glimpse of a world alive with customs and traditions. The text is written with a peaceful tone, which provides an excellent backdrop for the paintings that do more to illustrate the Japanese way of life than does the text.

Only three characters are shown in the book, three members of the same family. The skin tones are similar as is the color of each character’s hair. The hairstyle of the mother in the story is conservative, yet chic enough to be seen in Japan or California today. The father and the young boy both have dark hair worn in a conservative style that is both respectful and timeless.

The surroundings of both home and nature are illustrated in neutral colors, emphasized here and there by the bright red of the boy’s scarf of the deep green of the pine tree that was planted on the day he was born. The neutral colors that dominate the illustrations beautifully illustrate the sense of peace and tranquility that rules the Japanese culture.

From the wooden tub where the boy is sent to warm up after his outdoor adventure to the sparse furnishings of the home and the slippers worn by both mother and father, Say brings a traditionally American holiday to the East with a “laudable sensitivity to Eastern and Western cultures—and to both the differences and similarities between them” (Publishers Weekly, 1991).

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Kirkus Reviews. When the young Japanese narrator comes home with a cold after playing in a forbidden pond, his mother “barely looks at him” and puts him into a hot bath and then to bed without so much as a story. She’s busy folding silver paper cranes; later, she brings in the little pine planted when the boy was born and decorates it with candles and the cranes, explaining for the first time how she celebrated Christmas in California, where she grew up.

Publishers Weekly. Heedless of Mama’s warnings, a Japanese boy cannot resist playing at an ice-cold pond “filled with carp of bright colors.” When he comes home, he is immediately treated for a cold, with a hot bath and rice gruel. His mother’s attitude chills him more than the weather, though; he cannot understand why she seems to be ignoring him. Hearing a noise in the garden, the boy spies Mama digging up the pine tree that was planted when he was born. She brings it inside and decorates it with paper cranes and candles. It is a Christmas tree, the first for the boy, and the first in many years for his mother, who tells her son she comes from “a warm place called Ca-li-for-ni-a.”

CONNECTIONS

This is a wonderful story to introduce customs and holidays from Japan and America. It could also be used as a read aloud to interest students in biculturalism.  

Look for these other stories by Allen Say:

Say, Allen. Kamishibai man. ISBN 978-0618479542

Say, Allen. The ink-keeper’s apprentice. ISBN 978-0395705629

Say, Allen. Tea with milk. ISBN 978-0395978603

Say, Allen. Under the cherry blossom tree: an old Japanese tale. ISBN 978-0395845462

Say, Allen. Emma’s rug. ISBN 978-0395742945

Yep, Laurence. 2000. Cockroach cooties. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 0786804874

PLOT SUMMARY

As Teddy well knows, younger brothers have an amazing talent for causing trouble for their big brothers. When eight-year-old Bobby insults Arnie, the school bully known as Arnie-zilla, Teddy attempts to walk away and let Bobby “learn how to deal with problems on his own”. However, family responsibility wins out and Teddy saves Bobby and brings the wrath of Arnie-zilla down on his head also. The two brothers attempt to deal with Arnie but are unsuccessful until Bobby inadvertently discovers Arnie’s fear of creepy-crawlies—especially cockroaches. Bobby adopts a cockroach and names it Hercules, and, with the help of Charlie, the Bug Lady who lives in their building, Bobby tries to get Teddy to see the world through the eyes of Hercules. When the pet bug meets an unfortunate end at the hands of their father, Bobby and Teddy find themselves with no plan until Bobby remembers Charlie’s cookies—the ones with a secret ingredient guaranteed to win the war with Arnie. Throughout the book, Yep incorporates images of San Francisco’s Chinatown and the life of a typical Chinese American family. The family’s dedication to education and each other is obvious as Teddy and Bobby deepen their brotherly bond and Teddy begins to see the world through the eyes of others. Yep incorporates humor as Teddy attempts to conquer his fear of bugs at Charlie’s house, but the ability of Bobby to see situations from other points of view is the thread that ties this humorous story together.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

Cockroach Cooties is a story about a Chinese American family living in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Although the characters’ heritage is shown throughout the story, their background is not the main emphasis of the story. The cover of the book depicts two boys with Chinese heritage, yet there is no overt description in the text regarding their appearance, or the appearance of any of the other characters that characterizes them as Chinese Americans. The family lives in Chinatown, and the boys attend a school where they have a one-hour Chinese lesson every day. Unlike her students, their teacher, Miss Lee,  “liked to wear Chinese-style dresses that had a slit up one leg” and “liked the old-fashioned Chinese discipline, too”.

When the family goes to a Chinatown restaurant to celebrate Teddy and Bobby’s mom’s birthday, there is reference to the behavior of a Chinatown waiter—“You just didn’t say things like that to a Chinatown waiter. It was like ordering around the president.” The food that the family eats at the restaurant appears to be traditional Chinese food—paper-wrapped chicken, fish in a black bean sauce, and a prawn dish “arranged so the prawns seemed to be dancing together in the center”. Bobby’s Uncle Mat ate the eyeball of the fish, which is considered a delicacy in some families.

There is no reference to dialect or traditional languages in the book, and the language patterns of the Chinese American characters are no different than the dialect and language found in books with characters from other countries. Likewise, the names of the characters are not noticeably Chinese. The only reference to an accent or varying dialect is found in the words of the stall owner in Chinatown. His responses to the boys include “ver-ree han-dee”, “ver-ree love-lee”, and ver-ree use-ful”, intimating a strong accent that is not seen in the other characters.

Yep’s story is a true melding of two cultures—Chinese and American, and readers will laugh along with Bobby as Teddy meets Madeline the tarantula and will cheer aloud as Bobby and Teddy finally make an uneasy truce with Arnie. “Filled with humor and warmth, this creepy-crawly tale is a tribute to resourcefulness and the unique relationship that only brothers share” (from the publisher).

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Publisher’s Weekly. Full of the sights and sounds of San Francisco’s Chinatown, the tale zips along at a brisk pace, percolating with snappy dialogue. A seasoned craftsman, Yep (Dragonwings; The Imp Who Ate My Homework) effortlessly shoehorns in fun facts about insects (”Did you know that cockroaches have two brains?” Bobby asks the hapless Arnie as he pursues him with Hercules). An altogether chipper outing.

School Library Journal. Set in the Chinatown section of San Francisco, this modern-day tale is about two brothers, eight and nine, previously featured in Later, Gator (Hyperion, 1995). Teddy, the older child, narrates. Bobby feels responsible for getting Teddy involved with a treacherous bully at school, so he devises a plan to scare the fiend with a cockroach that he obtains from “The Bug Lady,” a neighbor studying entomology. The plan is effective until the roach meets with an unfortunate end, but Bobby has a new secret plan that brings Arnie to his knees. Eventually, they realize that his tough attitude is a result of uncaring parents and a difficult home life, and a tentative friendship is formed.

CONNECTIONS

With the fun facts about insects thrown in, this is a great read-aloud for students to hear during a study of insects and/or etymology.

Look for these other stories with an Asian/Pacific American cultural influence:

Yep, Laurence. The magic paintbrush. ISBN 9780064408523

Namioka, Lensey. Yang the youngest and his terrible ear. ISBN 9780440409175

Na, An. A step from Heaven. ISBN 9780142500279

Kadohata, Cynthia. Kira-kira. ISBN 9780689856402

Park, Linda Sue. A single shard. ISBN 9780440418511

Namioka, Lensey. 1995. Yang the third and her impossible family. Ill. by Kees de Kiefte. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0316597260

PLOT SUMMARY

In this sequel to Namioka’s Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear, the focus of the story shifts from “Fourth Brother” to “Third Sister”, Yingmei. Yingmei is trying hard to find her place in America after her family’s move from China. Although Yingmei is not shy, she is finding it difficult to find a best friend at school, and, has begun going by the name “Mary” to the other students. After seeing the resemblance between Holly Hanson and the princess on her candy box, Yingmei decides that Holly will be her new friend. It seems no matter how hard she tries to be friends with Holly, Yingmei’s family continues to embarrass her by their lack of knowledge about Americans and their customs and traditions. When Holly is worried about finding a home for a kitten, Yingmei volunteers to take her home without her parents’ knowledge. Yingmei continues to use the kitten as a conversation-opener with Holly, and finds herself accepted in the group, even though she is not sure she likes Kim, Holly’s best friend since kindergarten. With Kim’s help, Yingmei begins to see Holly, not as a princess, but as a spoiled child that she is not certain she wants to be associated with. Through her discovery of herself and her place in her new home, Yingmei rediscovers her respect for her family and her culture and receives a new respect for herself as well. The occasional pen and ink illustrations by de Kiefte highlight the personality of the characters, from Older Sister who is defiantly proud of her Chinese heritage, to Fourth Brother who enjoys being called “Sprout” by his American friends. Readers will find clues to a rich cultural heritage as they laugh along with the exploits of Yang the Third and Her Impossible Family.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

“Since coming to this country, we have tried our best to do everything properly, but when Mother heard that preparing a Thanksgiving dinner involved roasting a turkey, she was horrified” (Namioka, 1995). Although most of the Yang family tried their best to fit in their new home, the cultures and traditions of the much younger United States make fitting in seem almost impossible. Throughout this story, Namioka relates Chinese traditions in a way that will inform readers without overwhelming them.

The form of address that Namioka uses throughout the book to refer to the siblings in the Yang family brings to mind a more traditional form of address than is typically seen in Chinese American families. From Oldest Brother and Second Sister to Fourth Brother and Third Sister, the children never use the names that they were given and are only called by their names by their new American neighbors.

When Yingmei shows embarrassment at her father’s speech patterns—“Where we live, the lice glows near the liver” rather than the rice grows near the river, Namioka is giving rise to the same stereotypes that have kept Asian Pacific Americans feeling foreign in the United States. Yingmei shows embarrassment at her family throughout the story, all for exhibiting a stereotypical behavior. Oldest Brother is more interested in music and school than in playing sports, making him a “nerd” to the American boys. Second Sister prefers to dress in her “Chinese clothes” including cloth shoes with a hole in them. Only Yingmei and Youngest Brother seem to escape these stereotypes by Americanizing themselves, occasionally by giving up pieces of their heritage.

The occasional illustrations by de Kiefte show the Yang family with varying hairstyles rather than typical ones, and physical characteristics such as face shape and body type are different between the members of the family. Other characters are also shown as individuals, although without added detail that would make identification of characters easier for readers.

Although Yang the Third and Her Impossible Family does not show the wit and humor that is evident in Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear, Namioka continues her story of the Yang family in a way that will endear them all to readers and make them look forward to the next installment of the Yang family.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

School Library Journal. Yingmei (a.k.a. Mary) Yang, the third of four children, tries to communicate the dichotomous feelings of a young Chinese girl, newly immigrated to the U.S., who is working hard to fit in, but whose efforts seem to be held back by the mannerisms and traditions of her family, the musical Yangs. Torn by her feelings of both pride and embarrassment for them, and yearning to win the friendship of a popular blonde schoolmate, Mary agrees to take one of Holly’s cat’s kittens, although she knows her family does not want pets because they fear animals would damage their expensive instruments.

Booklist. In Namioka’s popular comedy about a newly arrived Chinese family in Seattle, Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear (1992), the focus is on the immigrant son who prefers baseball to playing the violin with his musical family. Now the point of view switches to that of his sister Yingmei (Mary), who is desperately trying to be an American. Unfortunately, her family keeps disgracing her in public. Even while Mary is studying table manners and learning phrases and trying to make it with the in-crowd, her mother thinks it’s polite to compliment a guest on being old and fat, her father mispronounces words, and her sister dresses Chinese.

CONNECTIONS

A recurring theme in multicultural literature about Asian Pacific Americans is the adjustment to a bicultural way of life—respecting your history without compromising your present. This story can be used to discuss ways that students can be more accepting of other cultures as well as using multiculturalism to explore other ways of life.   

Look for these other stories about Chinese Americans:

Wong, Janet. Apple pie 4^th of July. ISBN 9780152025434

Wong, Janet. This next New Year. ISBN 9780374355036

Lin, Grace. Bringing in the New Year.  ISBN 0375837450

Lin, grace. Fortune cookie fortunes. ISBN 0440421926

Namioka, Lensey. Half and half. ISBN 0440418909