Gold Mountain by Canadian activist, architect and urban ecologist David HT Wong is an ambitious attempt to portray the 100+ years of of Chinese in North America in a non-fiction graphic novel.
Expanding from his own family's experiences to include stories from up and down the Pacific coast, Wong's a graphic history is a sometimes grisly reminder of racist attacks and discrimination targeting Chinese immigrants to "Gam Sam/Gold Mountain."
While the graphic artistry is coarse and falls short of the powerful narrative, this important social history presented in easily accessible format makes this a recommended addition for middle and high school libraries and social studies collections.
Also worth marking for use would be an introduction to RicePaper journal. 256 pages Ages 12 and up 978-1551524764
Recommended by: Craig Seasholes, Librarian, Washington USA
Keywords: immigration, immigrants, diversity, diverse books, Asia, China, racism, discrimination, prejudice, graphic novel, multicultural, American history, Social Studies Curriculum, 12 year old, 13 year old, 14 year old, non-fiction graphic novel
********** This is a vivid graphic history of the Chinese experience in North America over the last 150 years, beginning with the immigration of Chinese to "Gold Mountain" (the Chinese colloquialism for North America) in the 1800s that resulted in decades of discrimination, subjugation, and separation from loved ones. Based on historical documents and interviews with elders, the book is also the epic story of the Wong family as they traverse these challenges with hope and determination, creating an immigrant's legacy in their new home of North America.---from the publisher
