Landed [Hardcover]

Milly Lee (Author), Yangsook Choi (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Sun is ready to leave his village in China for America, the
place known as Gum Saan, Gold Mountain. His father warns
him, though, that passage will not be easy. Because of the 1882
Chinese Exclusion Act, new immigrants like Sun are detained
at Angel Island until they are called to take a difficult oral
exam before they can "land" - leave Angel Island and go
ashore. On the boat, Sun had studied maps of his village and
memorized facts about his ancestors. But as the weeks pass in
detainment, the map's compass points swirl in his memory, and
Sun worries that he will lose his direction and be turned away.
The oil paintings are rich with historical details in this vivid
recounting, based on the author's father-in-law's experiences, of
a disturbing chapter in Chinese American history.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6–Entering America from China will be difficult for 12-year-old Sun because of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, even though he will be traveling with his father. He studies hard so that he can answer all of the questions the American officials will ask upon his arrival; he will be alone because his father, a returning merchant, will not have to be interrogated. When he arrives on Angel Island, where Asian immigrants are held for sometimes up to a year, he waits four weeks to be called. The only questions that he cant answer are about directions, and it seems that he might fail the test and be sent back to China. Finally, with the help of a compass, he passes the test. Based on the experiences of the authors father-in-law, the book recounts a story from a neglected and shameful era in United States history. An authors note gives readers more information about the history of Chinese immigration and suggests resources for further research. Chois soft illustrations, reminiscent of those in Allen Says Grandfathers Journey (Houghton, 1993), capture the spirit of the time with beautiful visual detail. This is a significant book; from it, students will learn much about this chapter in U.S. history.–Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 3-5. Like Katrina Saltonstall Currier's Kai's Journey to Gold Mountain (2005), this poignant picture book is about a Chinese immigrant boy trying to join his father^B in America. But this story is much more detailed, with a lengthy text that describes leaving the old country as well as the difficulties of getting into the new one. Drawing on her father-in-law's experience, Lee tells of Sun, 12, whose family employs a tutor to help prepare him for American officials' questions. Sun must memorize minute details about his home in China to prove that he is his father's true son. Indeed, Sun is detained on Angel Island, where he is interrogated for a month, and where he makes friends with two "paper sons," who have made up identities to get into the country. The story is told with quiet restraint; there are no emotional partings from Sun's mother in China, no tearful reunions with older brothers already in California. But the tension is always there, and Choi's beautiful, full-page oil paintings, in sepia tones and shades of green, are quiet and packed with feeling--especially evident when the boy, stripped to the waist, endures the humiliating medical exam and when, dressed in suit and tie, he faces his interrogators, trying to remember his story. Pair this with Lawrence Yep's Tongues of Jade (1991) and other stories of immigrants detained on Ellis Island, terrified of being sent back. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (February 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374343144
• ISBN-13: 978-0374343149
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #576,953 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

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An immigration story worth knowing, July 5, 2006

By 

Debbie Duncan (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Landed (Hardcover)

This noteworthy and impressive picture book tells a true immigration experience from the early 20th century. The author's father-in-law, Lee Sun Chor, sailed from China to San Francisco with his father, a Chinatown merchant. But like other Chinese immigrants, Sun was detained at Angel Island for weeks, until he could be interrogated by immigration officials. While Sun was a "true son" of a Chinatown shopowner, many other immigrants came to America as "paper sons," posing as sons of merchants or U.S. citizens. It was the only way under the Chinese Exclusion Act for Chinese to immigrate legally.

Sun studied hard for the interrogation, but when he's asked which direction the nearest neighbors' house back in China faces, he answered, "I don't know." Sun's poor sense of direction was in danger of sending him away from his father and brothers!

Stellar storytelling and realistic watercolor paintings make this disturbing chapter of American history accessible without either sentimentality or bitterness. Twenty-first century children can learn a great deal from plucky Lee Sun Chor's story in "Landed," as well as Milly Lee's excellent author's note about Chinese immigration.

Highly recommended.

(A version of this review appeared in the Palo Alto Weekly.)