Materials from Asia
In 2199 in the Neo State of Korea, eighteen-year-old Jaewon is partnered with supersoldier Tera, but their evolving love is threatened when Jaewon must choose among conflicting loyalties–to the totalitarian government that promises to end all war, the nationalist rebels his father followed, or the crime syndicate staging a coup.
Featured in October 2023’s WOW Dozen on Books by Contemporary Korean American Authors.
Mia Chen is on what her mother calls a Grand Adventure. She’s not sure what to make of this family trip to China, and didn’t want to leave her friends for the summer, but she’s excited about the prospect of exploring with her Aunt Lin, the only adult who truly understands her. Then Aunt Lin disappears, right after her old nemesis, a man named Ying, comes to visit. Mia knows that years ago, when Aunt Lin and Ying were sent to the Fuzhou countryside to work as laborers, the two searched for an ancient treasure together—one that still hasn’t been found. She’s suspicious that their shared history might be linked to Aunt Lin’s disappearance. When Mia discovers an old map filled with riddles in Aunt Lin’s room, she quickly pieces together her mission: find the treasure, find her aunt. Now, Mia, along with her big brother, Jake, must solve the clues to rescue the person she knows best in the world—and maybe unearth a treasure greater than her wildest dreams.
In the village of Huanan, in medieval China, the deity that rules is the Great Huli Jing. Though twelve-year-old Li Jing’s name is a different character entirely from the Huli Jing, the sound is close enough to provide constant teasing-but maybe is also a source of greater destiny and power. Jing’s life isn’t easy. Her father is a poor tea farmer, and her family has come to the conclusion that in order for everyone to survive, Jing must be sacrificed for the common good. She is sold as a bride to the Koh family, where she will be the wife and nursemaid to their three-year-old son, Ju’nan. It’s not fair, and Jing feels this bitterly, especially when she is treated poorly by the Koh’s, and sold yet again into a worse situation that leads Jing to believe her only option is to run away, and find home again. With the help of a spider who weaves Jing a means to escape, and a nightingale who helps her find her way, Jing embarks on a quest back to Huanan–and to herself.
Seventeen traditional American and Chinese songs are written in artist Xu Bing’s signature Square Word Calligraphy.
As a young man in India, Gandhi saw firsthand how people were treated unfairly. Refusing to accept injustice, he came up with a brilliant way to fight back through quiet, peaceful protest. He took his methods with him from South Africa back to India, where he led a nonviolent revolution that freed his country from British rule. Through his calm, steady heroism, Gandhi changed everything for India and inspired civil rights movements all over the world, proving that the smallest of us can be the most powerful.
The jataka tales—stories of the Buddha’s past lives (in both human and animal form)—were first said to have been told by the Buddha himself 2,500 years ago. In print since the 5th century BCE, 550 jataka tales comprise part of the oldest Buddhist text, the Pali Canon. From this wealth of folklore, award-winning author and storyteller Rafe Martin has chosen ten tales that illustrate the ideals of the Buddhist paramitas, or “perfections” of character: giving, morality, forbearance, vitality, focused meditation, wisdom, compassionate skillful means, resolve, strength, and knowledge.Endless Path presents these ancient stories, usually reduced to children’s tales in the West, for adults, reconnecting modern seekers with the more imaginative roots of Buddhism. The jatakas help readers see their own lives, their failures and renewed efforts, in the same light as the challenges the Buddha faced—not as obstacles but as opportunities for developing character and self-understanding. Endless Path demonstrates the relevance of these tales to Buddhist lay practitioners today, as well as to those more broadly interested in Buddhist teaching and the ancient art of storytelling.
North Korea is known as the most repressive country on Earth, with a dictatorial leader, a starving population, and harsh punishment for rebellion. Not the best place for a family vacation. Yet that’s exactly where Mia Andrews finds herself, on a tour with her aid-worker father and fractious older brother, Simon. Mia was adopted from South Korea as a baby, and the trip raises tough questions about where she really belongs. Then her dad is arrested for spying, just as forbidden photographs of North Korean slave-labor camps fall into Mia’s hands. The only way to save Dad: get the pictures out of the country. Thus Mia and Simon set off on a harrowing journey to the border, without food, money, or shelter, in a land where anyone who sees them might turn them in, and getting caught could mean prison — or worse.
In this wordless picture book, each image starts with a single line, whether made by a pencil or the blade of a skate–and the magic flows from there.
When Pattan finds a yellow-flower vine wilting in his valley, he replants and cares for it, watching as a pumpkin appears and grows taller than the goats, taller than the elephants, as tall as the very mountains. When a terrible storm rages across the valley, Pattan wonders if perhaps his pumpkin can save the seeds and grains and saplings, the goats and birds and bison, and protect them all as the storm clouds burst and the waters rise.
by Yuri Wellington, Ph.D.; Executive Director, Teach Cambodia, Inc.; Professor and Director, Cambodia International Pedagogical Institute
I recently read an article that described Cambodia’s literary traditions as “rising from the ashes.” In a country where nearly every author, teacher and intellectual was killed or driven out, literary traditions and genres are literally being recreated. Thus, the landscape of resources for children’ literature is very different from what we’ve come to expect in the USA, or in many other westernized countries. There are no “children’s” book authors or illustrators. In fact, most books for children are written and published by NGO’s, in an effort to publicize a particular civic or environmental concern. The stories are usually taken from traditional Cambodian folklore or actual accounts of historical events. Translated from the oral storytelling tradition, the text is often lengthy, with complex vocabulary and plot. While the illustrations are beautiful and intricate, these books definitely do not meet the criteria for “picture books.” Still, the stories and pictures never fail to hold the attention of even the youngest students.
One such book is Samnang and the Giant Catfish (Hogan, 2002?), which tells the story of the long migratory journey of the Mekong giant catfish and her encounters with a small boy along the way. I have to be honest, when I first heard about the giant catfish, I thought it was a joke! Folks, it’s no joke, and the plight of this huge, ugly creature is synonymous with the plight of all the people whose livelihoods are intricately tied to the Mekong and its tributaries. Many of these people –Cambodians, Laotians, Vietnamese, and Thai – are in danger of losing everything due to industrialization taking place all along the Mekong. It is a serious social, economic and environmental issue that impacts millions of people as well as other unique species such as the Irrawaddy Dolphins. The book links the importance of the fisheries in Cambodia to sustainability and clean waterways. A colorful field guide to native fish of Cambodia is also included.
When I taught multi-age classes in the early ‘90’s, everyone was fascinated by rain forests. Many of our cross-curricular “thematic units” focused on the rainforest – the ecosystems, the animals… Today, a major environmental around the world concern is global warming. One of the unique features of Southeast Asian society is the prevalence of subsistence farming and fishing alongside of cutting edge nanotechnology and incredibly rapid economic growth on a national level. Thus, exploration of culture like Cambodia using books such as those published by the various NGO’s I have discussed provide a unique opportunity to learn about distant cultures and global issues that directly impact us in the USA in the same moment. These books would make an excellent text set for such a unit.
The fact that these kinds of books are almost exclusively what is available suggests that perhaps a different genre of children’s literature is emerging from Cambodia, fueled by her history and her intellectual and literary rebirth in the 21st century. Hmmm…. I think that might be the focus of my final entry…. Aah, but I digress….
As I write this, Michael Lacapa comes to mind. I went to his online biography to investigate the connection. Help me out here, folks! I think the connection is in the deep connection to nature and the environment, and to the souls of his people that were the foundation of so much of his writing and illustration. It’s very different, and yet, it’s the same. In Cambodia, there is a saying that you see everywhere, “same same… but different.” Does anyone else see the connection? If so, write and tell me about it! Oops, more digression…
“So what are we supposed to do with the Khmer text?” WOW Stories recently featured an excellent article on Exploring Culture through Literature Written in Unfamiliar Languages . (Thomas and Short, 2011). Like the Korean writing described in the vignette, Khmer provides a wonderful opportunity to explore other lexicon. I still remember my own fourth grade teacher telling us about Egyptian hieroglyphics and challenging us to create our own written language and symbol. Due to the deep history of the writing that goes back over 8,000 years, an exploration of Khmer writing might also include a discussion about the history and development of written language.
In terms of exploring culture through unfamiliar language, we actually do the same ting in Siem Reap in our exploration of western culture through the use of English. Unlike central Siem Reap, Sambour village is quite remote, and most children and adults have never been anywhere else. They do not speak English, and are not familiar with it as the “town” folks are. They don’t see a lot of foreigners, and Sambour is not a destination on any tour. Thus, it is a curious circumstance that most of the books in the school library are bilingual. It is easy to understand when we consider the source of most children’s books… but curious, nevertheless….
Okay, bring it on home…
I’d like to close this blog with a more detailed description of three good sources for Cambodian Children’s literature that can be accessed from the USA.
Room to Read is a San Francisco-based NGO that publishes books in multiple languages for distribution in developing countries. As of 2010 RTR had published 96 Khmer children’s books, and a projected 25 additional titles were to be published in 2011. Every title is a collaboration by Khmer and western authors and illustrators. The stories and illustrations are culturally authentic, with high quality (i.e. grammatically and syntactically correct) Khmer and English text. Some of the books are fully bilingual (each page including both the English and Khmer text), while others are wholly in Khmer, with the English translation provided at the back of the book. At present RTR does not sell to individuals, but it is possible to purchase titles for libraries, and the books are also widely available through retail outlets in Cambodia.
Save Cambodian Wildlife is a Cambodia-based NGO that publishes to encourage protection of the environment and of Cambodian endangered animals. Environmental preservation is actually a critical issue throughout Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia where
All of the titles include “factoids” about the animals or environmental issues featured. These are great read-aloud books for grades K-3. Grades 4 and above could utilize these titles for guided reading, independent reading, and research about the environment. As a group, these books would make a great text set for study about environmental preservation.
SIPAR publishes bilingual and monolingual books in Khmer, Khmer-English, English, Japanese. Some titles are available in multiple languages. For example, the White Elephant’s Daughter is available in English, French, and Khmer. Interestingly, titles offered through SIPAR-Books.com are different from those offered through SIPAR.org. Some of the SIPAR-books.com titles use aastilted English cadence – obviously translated by a non-native speaker. The best quality titles are offered SIPAR’s label “White Elephant Books.” They do ship to USA (from France), and the cost is very reasonable. I have included the order form for White Elephant Books. (Please hyperlink to the attached document).
Now that we’ve talked a bit about what’s out there, what do you think? How might you incorporate Cambodian children’s literature into your classroom?
My next blog will focus on books published by quality vs. authenticity, and the difficulty of finding books FROM Cambodia that meet our literary standards. (or maybe I’ll address one of the other topics I touched on above…. Lacapa… emerging genres… you’ll just have to check back to find out!)
A parting treat for all of you: click here to watch some of our Sambour children exploring books during their recess time!
References
Hogan, Zeb (2002?). Samnang and the giant catfish. Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Save Cambodian Wildlife.
Snaije, Olivia (2011). Cambodia, Where Literature is Being Reborn. Publishing Perspectives, 17 November, 2011. http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/11/cambodia-where-literature-is-being-reborn/
NOTE ABOUT REFERENCES: I struggle with appropriate annotation for books published in Cambodia. Most do not have a publication year, and there is no central clearinghouse or catalog that one can go to for citation information. There are also no ISBN or other tracking numbers. Thus, for books published in Cambodia, if there is no publication date listed then I used the date of the official government letter that appears in the introduction.
Websites:
Save Cambodian Wildlife. (publications for sale) http://www.cambodiaswildlife.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74&Itemid=127
SIPAR – Soutien à l’Initiative Privée pour l’Aide à la Reconstruction des Pays du Sud-Est Asiatique: http://www.sipar.org/
SIPAR Books. http://www.sipar-books.com
Room to Read. http://www.roomtoread.org/