American Born Chinese

I wanted to read something a little different so I thought I would try out some multicultural literature.  I feel a kinship to the Chinese people after having lived in Hong Kong years ago.  This novel looked like a good pick, so I ordered it from Amazon.  

It arrived on my doorstep just like any other Amazon order.  I ripped open the box and I flipped open the book and... it was a graphic novel!  I had no idea it would be a graphic novel.

I was a little excited and yet a little apprehensive.  Although in theory I am a supporter of all types of text, I had never read a graphic novel and I wasn't sure I would like it.

I did like it.  And I can see how it would appeal to young adult readers.  The writing was smart and funny and the graphics were crisp and told the story just as well as words did.  I was a little concerned that the heavy stereotyping depicted was way over the top, but in doing so the author makes some clear points.

Gene Luen Yang's novel starts with 3 distinct and seemingly separate stories.  

The first is about Monkey King who spends a whole lot of time trying to be the best at everything and force his way into the good graces of the Heavenly Gods.  

The second story is about Jin Wang, a young American Born Chinese boy and his desire to fit in at school.

The third story appears to be a sitcom about a non-Chinese teen named Danny, whose life is disrupted by the annual visit from his embarrassing and inexplicably Chinese cousin, Chin-Kee.

Yang is able to take all three stories and weave them into one tale with a moral that Papa Polonius from Hamlet would well recite:  "to thine own self be true".   

There were some surprisingly sobering moments in the novel.  Like when Greg, a popular boy who has always been somewhat decent to Jin Wang at school, shows he's not really as accepting of Jin as we thought.  Greg tells Jin to stop dating Amelia, the Caucasian girl Jin has been crushing on because Amelia needs to "start paying attention to who she hangs out with" now that they are almost in high school.  Or when Jin, in a moment of distress and anger, does someone really awful to hurt his best friend.

The novel also humorously tackles the not so funny issues of cultural vs. individual identity, bigotry and stereotyping and does a good job pointing out how even "nice" people might subconsciously think they are better than the Jin Yangs.

A 7/8th grade teacher could use this novel in many ways.  Here are a couple of suggestions:

• Divide the class into groups, each one representing a different racial/social/religious minority. Have them research the folklore of their target group and select their favorite tale. Then, have them write a script and reenact that story for the class. After group presentations, discuss the different folktales, in particular their similarities and differences, their lessons, and their impact

• Discuss the pursuit of dreams and what the herbalist meant when she said, “It’s easy to become anything you wish…so long as you’re willing to forfeit your soul.” (www.cbldf.org)

For greater discussion on literary style and/or content here are some prose novels and poetry you may want to read with American Born Chinese:

• D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaire: An introduction to the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece. Note that George O’Connor (First Second Books) is also putting out an exceptional collection of graphic novels accurately and creatively retelling the stories of the Greek gods.
• Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices and Poems for Four Voices, both by Paul Fleischman: Poignant, playful, powerful poetry for multiple voices.
• Dragonwings by Laurence Yep: An award-winning (Phoenix Award from the Children’s Literature Association and runner-up for Newbery Medal) historical novel depicting the Chinese American experience in San Francisco shortly after the turn of the twentieth century.
• The Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie: About a bright motivated young Native American who must decide between a long commute to a better all-white school off the reservation (and face ridicule from white kids he must befriend and from his local friends he leaves behind) or to remain with his friends at the reservation’s  limited high school and head nowhere fast. (www.cbldf.org)

Teaching ideas retrieved from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund website.

The last book is also on my reading list!