nwasianweekly.com
April 12, 2008

Nothing childish about these children’s books that tackle big issues

By Stacy Nguyen
Northwest Asian Weekly

“A Song for Cambodia,” by Michelle Lord, illustrated by Shino Arihara

Based on a true story, “A Song for Cambodia” is an illustrated children’s book about Arn, a young boy who is a victim of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge soldiers steal him away from his family and take Arn to a children’s work camp. Throughout all the horrors, Arn uses music as a way to cope in the darkness.

This book tells the story of an important part of our world history that is often overlooked in our schools. Though author, Michelle Lord, has to condense the story for her audience, she is surprisingly frank and honest in her portrayal of Arn Chorn-Pond’s story. The illustrations are detailed and emotive — a nice touch being Arn’s time in the work camp is shown in muddled colors, emphasizing his situation, visually revealing to the reader what a dark time this was.

Published by Lee & Low Books, March 30, 2008. $16.95

“Hello Maggie!” by Shigeru Yabu, illustrated by Willie Ito

In the same vein, “Hello Maggie!” is a picture book that tells the story of a Japanese American boy, Shig, whose family gets relocated to an internment camp in Wyoming during WWII. There, he finds an orphan baby bird, Maggie. For the duration of the war, Shig, with the amazing Maggie and his friends, play games and go about their childhood, all whilst living in the barracks, behind barbed wire.

“Hello Maggie!” is a little disjointed. It is structured so that two sad and poignant events — going to the internment camp and coming back home — sandwich a middle story about a boy and his pet, a story full of fun and lightheartedness. This is a conflicting depiction. Though it is nice that not everything was portrayed as depressing and dreary for the sake of the audience of this book, focusing the story too much on the normalcy of life in the camps and the joy of having a pet could be seen as minimizing what was done to the Japanese Americans during WWII.

Published by Yabitoon Books, 2007. $11.95.

“Horse Song,” written and illustrated by Ted and Betsy Lewin

“Horse Song” tells the story of Ted and Betsy Lewin’s travel to see the Naadam, a Mongolian summer festival where the people race half-wild horses across the desert. There, they marvel at the horse culture of the Mongolians. They meet Tamir, one of the many boys and girls who are in the 14-mile race.

This story reads like a documentary — it starts with an introduction into the Lewin’s destination, goes through a description of the different animals, and then onto the narrative as the two visitors watch the whole preparation for the horse race with wide eyes and open minds. The illustrations are beautifully colorful and naturalistic. There are a lot of descriptions about the food, language and people that read very normal — as if the authors are making efforts to bridge the gap between Mongolia and America.

Published by Lee & Low Books, March 30, 2008. $19.95.

“Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things,” by Lenore Look, illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Alvin Ho is allergic to girls, school and other scary things. He is painfully shy. He hates being called on in class and will only speak at home and to his closest friends. He has a nosy little sister named Anibelly and a know-it-all brother named Calvin. He is self-described as being afraid of everything, but also being a secret superhero — Firecracker Man!

Alvin Ho is for kids who have graduated to chapter books, though it includes little doodles in the margins. Alvin Ho is unbearably cute, endearing and familiar in his fear of public speaking. Author Look seamlessly weaves in cultural elements of Alvin’s Chinese heritage without being overly heavy-handed as to make Alvin and his family seem foreign. For instance his “GungGung,” who loves baseball and can sew superhero costumes in no time, is a big presence in Alvin’s life like many grandparents are in Asian families.

Look’s portrayal is a great addition to the growing visibility of three-dimensional Asian protagonists in our media. Alvin Ho is shown as a boy proud and aware of his parents’ cultural heritage, as well having the same identifiable problems every kid has — bullies, homework and siblings.

Published by Schwartz & Wade, July 8, 2008. $15.99.

Stacy Nguyen can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

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