In honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I wanted to share this book, Chinese Immigrants in America -- Zoe loved it! It's about Chinese immigrants to the U.S. in the 1850s, and there are three different ways for the immigrant to go after arriving in San Francisco, and the reader can choose. The immigrant can go pan for gold, can go work for the Transcontinental Railroad, or can settle in San Francisco's Chinatown. The book is very informative, and any dryness of subject matter was counteracted by Zoe's excitement in getting a choice of what her character did first. The reading age range given is 9-12, and I'd agree. Zoe did read all three routes, but especially liked the Transcontinental Railroad part.
I know I've said this before, but I think it's important for parents of children adopted from abroad to recognize that our children share the immigrant experience with other groups who have come to America. It isn't enough to focus solely on the history and culture of their home country; they need to recognize that hypen -- the Chinese-American experience, the Korean-American experience, the Russian-American experience, etc. That hyphen is part of their identity.
In interest of fair disclosure, if you click on the amazon.com link, and buy the book, I get a kick-back. I've resisted blogger's pressure to have ads on the blog, but the ease of using the amazon.com linky thing has persuaded me to add their little button. I don't care whether you buy from amazon or some other outlet, or if you go to amazon on your own instead of buying through the button. I don't really expect to make any money off this blog! I just wanted to let you know that I'm a paid shill for amazon.com, so you can judge accordingly if you trust what I'm telling you about this book! (But Zoe really did love the book!)
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2 comments:
Thank you for telling us about Chinese Immigrants in America, which would indeed to be good to read or share with the kids around you.
That hyphen is important.
That series looks awesome! I want to buy the whole lot!
I was reading yesterday that it is important to teach Asian-american kids about the various Asian cultures because they will have to relate to other Asians (who they get lumped together with even if they are originally from different countries.) I feel this with my Vietnamese-american friend when she says things I don't get.
And then of course other immigration experiences, etc.
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