Customer Reviews

My Chinatown: One Year in Poems

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"My Chinatown: One Year in Poems," by Kam Mak, is a truly beautiful blend of poetry and visual artwork. The simple, straightforward poems tell about life in Chinatown for a young boy whose family has emigrated from Hong Kong to the United States. The poems are accompanied by richly colored illustrations. A sample of the writing style: "If you have money in your pocket, / you're never hungry / in Chinatown."

The illustrations capture many memorable images: a bunch of colorful kumquats, a cobbler at work, colorful dragon boats, and more. This book is a wonderful celebration of the people, food, and cultural events of Chinatown.

'My Chinatown' is a beautiful book about a young boy who misses his old home in China and how he is slowly discovering his new neighborhood- Chinatown. The beautiful pictures in the book are bright and bold with simple prose to guide the reader on this young boys adventure. The book is broken down by seasons as the young boys describes the transformation his neighborhood takes during various times of the year.

I brought a copy of this book home very well expecting it to go on the bookshelf and to languish there until my son got older. I was pleasantly surprised that even at 18-months my toddler gravitated to the book and enjoys looking at the artwork. It is wonderful to share this book with him; he likes the picture of the kumquats. This is a beautiful book with brilliantly bright artwork and a wonderful gift for a child or adult.

If you have only a few, treasured children's books on your shelf, My Chinatown should be one of them. Rarely does a picture book ever exceed the level of entertainment or visual treat and amusement to ascend to a realm where, well, you get tingles while experiencing it. And this book must be held in your hands and consumed. Each page is a frameable work of imaginative, breathtakingly beautiful art. Each poem is a vignette of life in Chinatown, complete with all the sensory details in a few lines. Like Matisse's few strokes that reveal a cat, Kam Mak's writing reveals entire scenes that come to life simply, remarkably. Even if I did not have a child, I would love to have this book on my coffee table. Reminiscent of Chris Van Allsburg (Polar Express, Jumaniji) where elegant, spare writing and outstanding art work combine to make magic. My Chinatown is miraculous.