12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Starter Book Asian American Youth, June 14, 2003
This review is from: Child of the Owl: Golden Mountain Chronicles: 1965 (Paperback)
I found this book on the shelf of my 5th grade classroom 14 years ago, and it completely changed my life. Never before and actually, never since, did I feel like I could relate to a character in a book like that. But, of course, reading it again when i was older, I don't relate to anything in the book other than the main character was a Chinese American female, and so was I.
As opposed to some other Asian American books for kids, I like this one particularly because it takes place in the US. While more 'multi-cultural' books try and relate back to China a lot, I liked this one because I find it a lot more relavant to the 2nd generation/3rd generation experience, and it also appeals to the curiosity people begin to have about their 'culture' when they start thinking about ethnic identity.
The strong parts about the book: The story is engaging, and even though it was written in the 1970's or 1960's, it doesn't seem dated. It's about a separated family, and Casey's a toy-boy who doesn't take a lot of crap, as opposed to some goody-goody. And the backdrop of Chinatown makes it pretty interesting and urban, and gives a good general historical background of Chinatown as an ethnic enclave, too. Also, if anyone is concerned about the politics represented in the book, as far as I can tell, there aren't any messages of advocating for a color-blind society or all multi-culti-feel-good sentiment which are characteristics I find frustrating about a lot of other 'books for Asian American youth'.
The weak parts about the book: I don't really like a lot of mythology, folklore or fantastic stories. I hated them as a kid, and I still really don't like it now. My least favorite part as a kid is the story about the spirit of the owl, and it still makes me weary. The book still implies filial piety, but to a degree which I think it's ok, mostly because of Casey's strong personality and inclination to rebel. Also, most Chinese American kids live outside of Chinatowns so the experience is a lot different and I haven't heard of too many books which sort of discuss either a more urban, or a more suburbian narrative that's pretty realistic and has good politics, too.
Nonetheless, I still pick up the book from time to time. I don't know a whole lot of other Asian American kids books, but as someone who turned out to be an Asian American major in college, I still need to pay tribute to the fact that regardless of whether in retrospect I think my life related, it very early on offered me the narative of a Chinese American female in the US, and the beginnings of understanding what it meant for me to be Chinese American.
Other Yep books have a little too much mysticism and folklore for my taste, but I do think Dragonwings offers a strong look at the history of Chinese Americans in California.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, superb, and other words of adulation, January 23, 2004
This review is from: Child of the Owl: Golden Mountain Chronicles: 1965 (Paperback)
Here's the first sentence of "Child of the Owl":
"It was hard to understand Barney with the air tubes up his nose".
And from that sentence on it this book becomes one of the most readable I have ever encountered. Have you ever entered into a book, not knowing what to expect but suspecting that it's not going to retain your interest for very long? Knowing what little I did about "Child of the Owl", I walked into this gem of kiddie lit with more than a little trepidation. What I found was a story that was funny, touching, and ultimately informative. I'm naturally wary of books that are supposed to be "good" for children. That will teach them lessons about diversity while maintaining a sticky sweet didactic tone. But "Child of the Owl" isn't like that at all. Instead, it is honest-to-goodness gold.
The plot is especially good. Young streetwise Casey must leave her gambler father to live with her Grandmother in San Francisco's Chinatown for a little while. Laurence Yep has effectively written a tale that captures the spirit of a person never fully feeling as if they fit in. As the blurb on the cover of the books says, sometimes, "you can feel like a stranger, trapped in the wrong place, in the wrong time, even in the wrong body". What makes the book so eminently readable, however, is the care with which Yep has drawn upon his own experiences in 1964 Chinatown, to explain and examine Casey's reactions to life in that once tiny neighborhood.
Now if I was going to make a collection of Top Ten Children's Books Set In San Francisco, "Child of the Owl" would be number one. It would also be number one of Top Ten Intergenerational Children's Books and Top Ten Children's Books Containing Sarcastic Wisecracking Kids. Sorry Gilly Hopkins. Casey's got you beat. As a heroine she's funny, smart, and filled with reactions appropriate to a pre-adolescent. I highly recommend this book to any child wanting to learn more about the Chinese-American experience of living in America. The book speaks volumes to those living then and now. It is a book to be remembered.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As a child this was my favorite book!, July 21, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Child of the Owl: Golden Mountain Chronicles: 1965 (Paperback)
This was an excellent book to read for me, as when I was six I lost my grandmother (chinese). Reading this book made me feel like she was still with me, in some way. I recommend it for everyone, but especially Asian-Americans as it looks a little at the roots of our heritage. Especally when it is so hard to see these days.
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