Materials from Asia
In the Chinese opera, men traditionally sing both male and female parts. Wei Lim’s father, Ba, however, usually plays masculine characters and sings in a deep bass voice. But Wei’s grandfather played female roles, and has secretly taught Wei to sing these difficult parts. When the New World’s entertainments begin to cause a shrinking audience for the opera company, Ba is forced to play female characters.
Elizabeth Quan’s father had made a success in the New World, but he longed for his home in China. So in the early 1920’s, he and his family set out on an arduous trip to the far side of the world. By train, ship, ferry, cart, and on foot, Elizabeth, her parents, and her brothers and sisters set off from Toronto to a village in China to visit the grandmother they have never met.From the mountain of luggage to the whales breaching in the Pacific and geishas on wooden sandals on the cobbled streets of Yokohama, Elizabeth Quan describes sights that would captivate any child. But hers is also a journey of personal discovery. Did she fit in in Canada, where her straight dark hair and even the foods she ate set her apart? Would she fit in in China where she was just as different to the people she met? In the course of her family’s travels she learns that home is a state of mind and that the moon can find us, no matter where we are.
The true story of a girl who posed as a boy during World War II–and dared to speak up for her fellow prisoners of war. With the Japanese army poised to invade their Indonesian island in 1942, Rita la Fontaine’s family knew that they and the other Dutch and Dutch-Indonesian residents would soon become prisoners of war. Fearing that twelve-year-old Rita would be forced to act as a “comfort woman” for the Japanese soldiers, the family launched a desperate plan to turn Rita into “Rick,” cutting her hair short and dressing her in boy’s clothes. Rita’s aptitude for languages earned her a position as translator for the commandant of the prisoner camp, and for the next three years she played a dangerous game of disguise while advocating against poor conditions, injustice, and torture. Sixty-five years later, Rita describes a war experience like no other — a remarkable tale of integrity, fortitude, and honor.
The setting is Sri Lanka, 1980, and it is the season of monsoons. Fourteen-year-old Amrith is caught up in the life of the cheerful, well-to-do household in which he is being raised by his vibrant Auntie Bundle and kindly Uncle Lucky. He tries not to think of his life “before,” when his doting mother was still alive. Amrith’s holiday plans seem unpromising: he wants to appear in his school’s production of Othello and he is learning to type at Uncle Lucky’s tropical fish business. Then, like an unexpected monsoon, his cousin arrives from Canada and Amrith’s ordered life is storm-tossed. He finds himself falling in love with the Canadian boy. Othello, with its powerful theme of disastrous jealousy, is the backdrop to the drama in which Amrith finds himself immersed.
Little Eagle tells the story of a young boy who is orphaned and taken in by a kind old man. The story centers on the boy’s discovery of his guardian’s gift as a master of Eagle boxing, a specialized form of Kung Fu. Combining classical Chinese elegance with elements of Japanese anime, Chen’s bold and energetic illustrations bring the dramatic physicality of Eagle boxing to life. Children will root for Little Eagle as he learns his new discipline and faces many challenges on his way to becoming a Kung Fu master himself. A perfect choice for children taking a martial arts class or simply looking for a good story.
A big-city rabbit named Bunny Lune wants more than anything to go to the moon. His friend Pyonko has told him about the Japanese tradition that rabbits live there. How can Bunny Lune manage this incredible trip? Weightlessness makes him feel queasy, and he can’t go for very long without breathing, no matter how hard he tries. Besides, he could never sell enough salad to afford the fare. But maybe there’s a way he can share tea and rice dumplings on the moon after all if he follows the advice of a seasoned traveler and fuels his efforts with creativity.
Tyger! Tyger! is a moving fable that expresses hope for harmony between the human and the animal worlds. It draws its inspiration from real life–a Buddhist monastery in Thailand that has for years provided sanctuary for one of the world’s most endangered animals, the beautiful Indo-Chinese tiger.
In ancient Japan, a young tanuki, a raccoon dog that can change shapes, becomes stuck in the form of a teapot. Includes notes on the original Japanese folktale from which this story is derived.
This is a tale of two children and their parents, and the beloved pet doves that help them to understand one another. Twins Mei-Mei and her brother, DiDi leave for school each morning with their mother’s words ringing in their ears: Fei, fei—fly little birds,”Fei, fei — fly, fly, little birds, but always come home to me!” Mei-Mei and Di-Di are head-over-heels in love with their new doves. Like devoted parents, the siblings tenderly nurture Butterfly and Squeaky as they grow from chicks to fledglings to birds. But when Mei-Mei and Di-Di arrive home to find that the doves have disappeared, their young hearts break into a thousand pieces — and they run away, determined to reclaim their beloved birds.
Two little girls—raised by wolves—have just arrived at the orphanage, and life will never be the same. Based on a true story, this book is about many things at once: family, friendship, and what it means to have a home.