I write books for young readers and review books about growing up between cultures. Visit me on Mitali's Fire Escape (mitaliperkins.com), or find out more about my First Daughter Novels (firstdaughterbooks.com) from Dutton Books.
Third Prize 2008 Short Story Contest A Cultural Chasm by Kenneth, China/America, Age 17
To Lee, culture entailed addition, not subtraction. Yet, he could never seem to maximize his equation -- the world would forbid it. Living in America, he inadvertently formed a cultural chasm with his Chinese relatives. However, the same would happen no matter where he lived.
His Chinese grandmother would call -- her broken English wishing him well and urging him to succeed. When Lee passed the phone to his mother, he could faintly hear that broken English morphing into a stream of fluid Mandarin, expressing untold, unnumbered ideas and beautiful, complex emotions. He just couldnšt understand.
This fact was clarified many years ago, when he had visited his grandmother with his Pennsylvanian father and Chinese mother. Looking back, Lee realized that every facet of him, from his clothes to his lack of a skill with a bike, screamed "tourist." Visiting the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, he had not understood their true significance only their beauty. Of all the words he had learned, one stood out in his mind. It meant "American person." He had heard it often.
Yet, in the United States, many people did the same thing. Most quickly labeled him as "Asian." and some even told him that it was in his face. It was in his birth -- something he could never change. No matter which country he chose, Lee could never completely identify with it.
Many of his friends knew Leešs pain. They held the same problem. Thus, they increasingly leaned on each other for guidance widening the chasm, leaving a beautiful and stunning culture on the far ledge. Lee could stand on one side or the other, but not both. This was a rule forged by geography, by style, by language, and by time. Choosing a side was like choosing between the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall, like choosing between forks and chopsticks, like choosing between everything. No one pressured him to decide; rather, he pressured himself.
As Lee passed through high school, meeting new friends and growing into a man, a small, nagging part of him knew that his Chinese family would not realize how he had changed.
Taking standardized tests, one section always stood out: a block in the introduction asking him to identify his race. There was a circle for "Asian" and a circle for "Caucasian." Lee could mark neither: he quietly shaded the circle for "Other."
The committee considered "works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for students in grades K-12 that encourage readers to understand, accept, and celebrate cultural differences as well as recognize shared aspects of the human experience across time and space."
I'm proud to be part of the 2008 NBGS book list:
Picture Books
1. Bae, Hyun-Joo. New Clothes for New Year's Day. La Jolla, CA: Kane-Miller
2. Bryan, Ashley. Let It Shine. NY: Atheneum
3. Fleischman, Paul. Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella. Illustrated by Julie Paschkis. NY: Henry Holt
4. Judge, Lita. One Thousand Tracings. NY: Hyperion
5. Levine, Ellen. Henry's Freedom Box. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. NY: Scholastic
6. Sis, Peter. The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain. NY: Farrar Straus & Giroux
7. Stanton, Karen. Papi's Gift. Illustrated by Rene King Moreno. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press
8. Strauss, Rochelle. One Well: The Story of Water on Earth. Illustrated by Rosemary Woods. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press
9. Tan, Shaun. The Arrival. NY: Scholastic
10. Thompson, Lauren. Ballerina Dreams: A True Story. Photographs by James Estrin. NY: Holtzbrink
11. Williams, Karen Lynn & Mohammed, Khadra. Four Feet, Two Sandals. Illustrated by Doug Chayka. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company
12. Wise, Bill. Louis Sockalexis: Native American Baseball Pioneer. Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth. NY: Lee & Low
Historical Fiction
13. Compestine, Ying Chang. Revolution is Not a Dinner Party. NY: Henry Holt
14. Curtis, Christopher Paul. Elijah of Buxton. NY: Scholastic
15. Myers, Walter Dean. Harlem Summer. NY: Scholastic
16. Sheth, Kashmira. Keeping Corner. NY: Hyperion
17. Toksvis, Sandi. Hitler's Canary. NY: Roaring Brook Press
18. Wells, Rosemary. Red Moon at Sharpsburg. NY: Penguin
based on 2 reviews
based on 1 review
