From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8-Included here are inspiring biographies of five Asian Americans: master chef, author and PBS personality Martin Yan; artist Mine Okubo; the founder of Benihana of Tokyo, Inc., Rocky Aoki; author Amy Tan; and actor Dustin Nguyen. Wherever possible, material is drawn from personal interviews and is accompanied by black-and-white photos, many of which are personal snapshots. Samples of Okubo's drawings are reproduced. The writing is often dull and repetitious; the sketches, varying in length from 9 pages for Nguyen to 24 for Aoki and Okubo, have errors. The Japanese province mentioned should be Gumma, not Gamma. Background information is sometimes vague; the book states that "England and France declared war on September 3, 1939" but doesn't say against whom. Janet Morey and Wendy Dunn's Famous Asian Americans (Cobblehill, 1992) contains 14 more tightly drawn profiles, although only Dustin Nguyen appears in both volumes.
Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.
Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.
From Booklist
Gr. 4-7. The fourth volume in a series of collective biographies of Asian Americans, this includes the life stories of actor Dustin Nguyen, novelist Amy Tan, business entrepeneur Rocky Aoki, artist Min{‚}e Okubo, and master chef and TV host Martin Yan. Some were born here of immigrant parents from China, Japan, and Vietnam; some are first-generation Americans. The individual stories are dramatic, candid, and personal. They are far from reverential. Businessman Aoki is frank (though unapologetic) about his violent acting out as a teenager and his driving view of success. Japanese artist Okubo talks as much about her bitter experience of internment here during World War II as about her success in her work. Fans of The Joy Luck Club will enjoy reading about Tan's youthful rebellion and her complex, changing relationship with her mother. The introductory writing is sometimes awkward, with a few "As You Read" questions that suggest classroom-directed study. There's no documentation, no indication of what comes from the interviews and what comes from other sources. Hazel Rochman
--This text refers to the
Library Binding
edition.
