A Day for Vincent Chin and Me [Hardcover]

Jacqueline Turner Banks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 2001 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Sixth-graders Tommy, Angela, Faye, and the twins, Judge and Jury Jenkins, have been friends forever. Now they’re faced with new problems and need to find new solutions to them—even if it means breaking the law. How can they help prevent an inevitable accident on Tommy’s street other than to try to stop cars from speeding past Tommy’s young, deaf neighbor? Not only must the Posse mastermind a plan, but Tommy must confront his doubts about his mother’s participation in a rally to fight racism. The last thing Tommy wants is to be singled out as a Japanese American, so why does his mother insist on drawing attention to his family? But once he and his friends find their own cause, Tommy discovers common ground with his mother and comes to understand what it means to fight for something you believe in.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The characters introduced in Project Wheels and Egg-Drop Blues return in Jacqueline Turner Banks's A Day for Vincent Chin and Me. This time, sixth-grader Tommy narrates the events as his mother organizes the Asian-American community to draw attention to the death of the Chinese-American man whom his murderers blamed for Detroit's declining car sales and soaring unemployment.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-Another sequel to Project Wheels (Houghton, 1993) involving a racially mixed group of sixth-grade friends living in Kentucky. Japanese-American Tommy saves his sister's deaf friend from being hit by a speeding car. The incident spurs the boy and his friends to try and build a speed bump to deter further accidents. His quest coincides with a rally his mother is planning to fight racism. The Vincent Chin of the title was a Chinese American who was beaten to death in 1982 by disgruntled Detroit auto workers, who blamed Japan for the decline in the auto industry and mistook the victim for Japanese. Tommy attempts to fit in and not be distinguished by his Asian heritage, and tries to be proud of who he is. In the end, he manages to find balance and realizes that the struggle his mother is fighting is similar to his own. The book ends with a note from the author about the real Vincent Chin and a time line of the trials resulting from his murder. The crisp writing and active plot will draw readers in.

DeAnn Tabuchi, San Anselmo Public Library, CA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (October 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 061813199X
• ISBN-13: 978-0618131990
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,786,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A story that needs to be told, November 22, 2006

By 

Christohper P. Furner "fsu23phd" (Amarillo, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Day for Vincent Chin and Me (Hardcover)

Such a shame what happened, this book is touching, well written and very interesting.