Shanghai Messenger

Published |
Updated
 
0.0 (0)
577 0
Shanghai Messenger

Book Information

Category
Picture Book
Reader Personality Type
Illustrator
Publisher
Lee & Low, August 2005
Country
Careful Content?

Grandma Nai Nai has received a letter from Uncle in China inviting Xiao Mei to visit them in Shanghai. Xiao Mei, May Johnson in America, does not want to go to this strange land and to these people she does not know. As she arrives, she is welcomed warmly by her aunts and she goes to their home and watches her Auntie chop pork and green onions and drop them into broth to cook on an electric hot plate. These people are her family but they are very unfamiliar to her and their ways are strange to her too. Day by day Xiao Mei experiences little pieces of life in this city and she tries tai chi, eats jello, visits a school and makes a friend. By the time the end of her visit rolls around, she is not ready to leave. She lives with one part of her heart in Ohio and the other part of her heart in Shanghai.

40 pages                                978-1620142301                  Ages 8-11

*************

You are my messenger. Look everything. Remember. Grandma Nai Nai tells eleven-year-old Xiao Mei as the girl heads off to Shanghai, China, to visit their extended family. Xiao Mei is both excited and apprehensive. She will meet many new relatives, but will they accept her, a girl from America who is only half Chinese?

Xiao Mei is eagerly embraced by her aunties, uncles and cousins and quickly immersed in the sights, smells and hubbub of daily living in Shanghai. At first battling homesickness, Xiao Mei soon ventures on her own, discovering the excitement of a different way of life and a new appreciation of her Chinese heritage. When it is finally time to leave, Xiao Mei must gather up her memories and bring a little bit of China; back home.

Ed Young's exquisite drawings touchingly highlight Andrea Cheng's lyrical story of adventure, self-discovery, and the strong bonds that tie families together.---from the publisher

User reviews

Have you read this book? We'd love to hear what you think. Click the button below to write your own review!
Already have an account? or Create an account