Foreign Children Working to Become American
The immigration story into America is so wide and unique. Too many stories to count. Today Renee and I will be delving into the picture books portraying the child immigration experience. I have chosen historical, and she will cover contemporary stories.
The lyrical When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest and illustrated by P.J. Lunch features the journey of 13 year-old orphaned Jessie, who is chosen by her village rabbi to go to America. After passing through Ellis Island, Jessie works for a seamstress in New York City. For years Jessie learned English and sewed for "Cousin Kay" while writing letters to her Grandmother and reuniting with a special friend met on the ship. Jessie works and works and saves and saves until she has enough money to bring her Grandmother over to America for Jessie's wedding. A big chunk of this book centers around Jessie's actual trip overseas, and the clash of the cultures when she arrives in America is minimized. But it is a lovely, lyrical picture book with a wonderful heart-warming ending.
Jessie's first letter to her Grandmother: "I wish you could see the pushcarts and shops and the trolleys speeding by. But there are too many people in America, and the streets are not gold."
Set in 1865, Coolies written by Yin and beautifully illustrated by her husband Chris Soentpiet follows brothers Shek and Little Wong from Canton province of China to San Francisco to the Sierra mountains where the boys labored among many other Chinese labeled as "Coolies" and Irish immigrants to build the Transcontinental Railroad. They worked through the most dangerous conditions, extreme heat and bitter snow for four years.
Since the setting is before the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, this tale focuses less on the actual immigration journey and more on the hard, perilous work and strong brotherly bond between the boys. Also, the story begins and ends with a contemporary Chinese-American grandmother telling her grandson about their ancestors, which personally as a reader I could have done without, but I understand the importance.
The sequel to Coolies, Brothers by Yin and illustrated by Chris Soentpiet features Ming, the younger, more carefree brother of Shek and Little Wong. In contrast to the hard work of his much older brothers, Ming stays with Shek, who owns a general store in San Francisco, and ventures outside the Chinatown borders to befriend an Irish boy named Patrick, who teaches Ming how to read and write English. While Shek himself expresses that the Chinese should stick together, he allows the friendship after the two boys help save the store. Historically, the Irish hated the Chinese during this era because they competed for jobs building the railroad. However, this is a nice fictional story about how a feeling of brotherhood transcends bloodlines and race.
Maggie's Amerikay by Barbara Timblerlake Russell, illustrated by Jim Burke, centers around twelve year old Irish Maggie adjusting to the culture in New Orleans. The inner conflict in this story arises from Maggie's father's insistence that she go to school, yet most children are working in the cigar factories. When Maggie's mother falls ill with yellow fever, Maggie worries about the lack of income and earns money rolling cigars and writing down the stories of Daddy Clements, who was forced to journey from Africa to America and fought in the American Civil War. As Maggie learns about another immigrant's culture, she shares her own Irish stories and listens to the beginnings of jazz music.
All published since 1997, these historical stories all take place in American before 1900. These children come to America not to play but to work, whether it be the back-breaking manual labor of building the railroad or running a general store or rolling cigars or sewing lace. In the latter two books, the theme of friendship transcending race and culture is incredibly strong and promotes an ideal of a truly harmonious multicultural America.
The lyrical When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest and illustrated by P.J. Lunch features the journey of 13 year-old orphaned Jessie, who is chosen by her village rabbi to go to America. After passing through Ellis Island, Jessie works for a seamstress in New York City. For years Jessie learned English and sewed for "Cousin Kay" while writing letters to her Grandmother and reuniting with a special friend met on the ship. Jessie works and works and saves and saves until she has enough money to bring her Grandmother over to America for Jessie's wedding. A big chunk of this book centers around Jessie's actual trip overseas, and the clash of the cultures when she arrives in America is minimized. But it is a lovely, lyrical picture book with a wonderful heart-warming ending.
Jessie's first letter to her Grandmother: "I wish you could see the pushcarts and shops and the trolleys speeding by. But there are too many people in America, and the streets are not gold."
Set in 1865, Coolies written by Yin and beautifully illustrated by her husband Chris Soentpiet follows brothers Shek and Little Wong from Canton province of China to San Francisco to the Sierra mountains where the boys labored among many other Chinese labeled as "Coolies" and Irish immigrants to build the Transcontinental Railroad. They worked through the most dangerous conditions, extreme heat and bitter snow for four years.
Since the setting is before the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, this tale focuses less on the actual immigration journey and more on the hard, perilous work and strong brotherly bond between the boys. Also, the story begins and ends with a contemporary Chinese-American grandmother telling her grandson about their ancestors, which personally as a reader I could have done without, but I understand the importance.
The sequel to Coolies, Brothers by Yin and illustrated by Chris Soentpiet features Ming, the younger, more carefree brother of Shek and Little Wong. In contrast to the hard work of his much older brothers, Ming stays with Shek, who owns a general store in San Francisco, and ventures outside the Chinatown borders to befriend an Irish boy named Patrick, who teaches Ming how to read and write English. While Shek himself expresses that the Chinese should stick together, he allows the friendship after the two boys help save the store. Historically, the Irish hated the Chinese during this era because they competed for jobs building the railroad. However, this is a nice fictional story about how a feeling of brotherhood transcends bloodlines and race.
Maggie's Amerikay by Barbara Timblerlake Russell, illustrated by Jim Burke, centers around twelve year old Irish Maggie adjusting to the culture in New Orleans. The inner conflict in this story arises from Maggie's father's insistence that she go to school, yet most children are working in the cigar factories. When Maggie's mother falls ill with yellow fever, Maggie worries about the lack of income and earns money rolling cigars and writing down the stories of Daddy Clements, who was forced to journey from Africa to America and fought in the American Civil War. As Maggie learns about another immigrant's culture, she shares her own Irish stories and listens to the beginnings of jazz music.
All published since 1997, these historical stories all take place in American before 1900. These children come to America not to play but to work, whether it be the back-breaking manual labor of building the railroad or running a general store or rolling cigars or sewing lace. In the latter two books, the theme of friendship transcending race and culture is incredibly strong and promotes an ideal of a truly harmonious multicultural America.
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posted by Emily Jiang at 7:30 AM
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