Lon PoPo
Young, E. (1989). Lon PoPo. New York, NY: Philomel Books.
ISBN 0-399-21619-7
Book Summary: This is the traditional Red Riding Hood story
with a Chinese twist. There was a mom who lived alone with her three daughters,
Shang, Tao, and Paotze. One day the mother left to go visit her mother for her
birthday and told the girls to stay home and at sunset they were to lock the
door and not let anyone in. Well a wolf lived nearby and saw the mother leave
and decides he would pretend to be their grandmother who is called PoPo to get
into the house and eat the girls. He waits for night time and then goes to the
house and knocks on the door. After convincing the girls that he was their PoPo
the girls open the door. Once inside the wolf blows out the candle so the girls
can’t get a good look at him. They then crawl in bed and the girls feel his
bushy tail and get curious. The oldest and wisest daughter decides to light
another candle but the wolf blows it out as well but not before she is able to
get a look at him. She then decides to outsmart the wolf and convince him that
he needs to eat the gingko nuts from the top of the tree outside. The daughters
go outside and climb the tree to pick the nuts and there the Shang was able to
tell her younger sisters about the wolf. The wolf waited and waited for the
girls to come back with the nuts and when they didn’t he went outside to find
out why. They wanted him to climb the tree and they knew he couldn’t. They then
decided to trick him into throwing a rope up to them and pull him up in a
basket. The first time they pulled him up a little and then dropped him. The
second time they pulled him up farther and then dropped him. The last time the
girls pulled him almost to the top and then dropped him and the fall killed him
and his heart broke into several pieces.
Culture Analysis: A lot of the culture in this book comes
through the illustrations. The pictures in the book show children of the Asian culture.
The children in the story also have Chinese names like Shang, Tao, and Paotze. The
term Po Po in Chinese means grandma which help incorporate the culture into the
story. The author Ed young also uses the Chinese gingko plant to also infuse
the Chinese culture into the classic tale.
Editorial Reviews:
From Publishers Weekly
This version of the Red Riding Hood story from Young ( The
Emperor and the Kite ; Cats Are Cats ; Yeh-Shen ) features three daughters left
at home when their mother goes to visit their grandmother. Lon Po Po, the
Granny Wolf, pretends to be the girls' grandmother, until clever Shang, the
eldest daughter, suspects the greedy wolf's real identity. Tempting him with
ginkgo nuts, the girls pull him in a basket to the top of the tree in which
they are hiding, then let go of the rope--killing him. One of Young's most
arresting illustrations accompanies his dedication: "To all the wolves of
the world for lending their good name as a tangible symbol for our
darkness." Like ancient Oriental paintings, the illustrations are
frequently grouped in panels. When the girls meet the wolf, e.g., the left
panel focuses on their wary faces peering out from the darkness, the middle
enlarges the evil wolf's eye and teeth, and the third is a vivid swirl of the
blue clothes in which the wolf is disguised. The juxtaposition of abstract and
realistic representations, the complicated play of color and shadow, and the
depth of the artist's vision all help transform this simple fairy tale into an
extraordinary and powerful book. Ages 4-8.
From School Library Journal
Grade 1-5-- A gripping variation on Red Riding Hood that
involves three little sisters who outsmart the wolf ( lon or long in Cantonese)
who has gained entry to their home under the false pretense of being their
maternal grandmother ( Po Po ). The clever animal blows out the candle before
the children can see him , and is actually in bed with them when they start
asking the traditional "Why, Grandma!" questions. The eldest realizes
the truth and tricks the wolf into letting them go outside to pick gingko nuts
, and then lures him to his doom. The text possesses that matter-of-fact
veracity that characterizes the best fairy tales. The watercolor and pastel
pictures are remarkable: mystically beautiful in their depiction of the Chinese
countryside, menacing in the exchanges with the wolf, and positively chilling
in the scenes inside the house. Overall, this is an outstanding achievement
that will be pored over again and again. -John Philbrook, San Francisco Pub .
Lib .Other books you might enjoy:
Tea With Milk
Say, A. (1999). Tea with milk. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
ISBN 0-395-90495-1
Book Summary:
This is the story May a Japanese girl who was born in
America and became accustomed to American life. However, when she graduated
from high school her parents were homesick and wanted to return to their home
country of Japan. May did not like Japan because she did not fit in. She had to
attend high school all over again and learn how to speak Japanese. She had to
sit learn how to sit on the floor for long periods of time and take lesson on
calligraphy, flower arranging and tea ceremonies. The other students in the
school called her a foreigner and she felt all alone. Then one day her mother
hired a matchmaker to hind May a husband. Her mother was determined that May would
marry a good Japanese boy from a good family. She met the young man her mother
wanted her to marry and was not happy. The next morning she decided she was
going leave home and find her own way. She rode the bus to Osaka. While in the
big city it reminded her of her American home in Californian. She went into a
department store and filled out an application to work. She was then hired and
worked as an elevator driver. One day she was able to use her English to help a
family who was having problems communicating with the others in the store. Her
boss overheard her and decided he had a better job for her. He made her a guide
for foreign businessman. After a few weeks she noticed a young man that had
taken her tour a few times. She asked him why and he responded in perfect English
that he liked that she spoke English and he wanted to invite her to tea. That
began a long friendship where they could both have long conversations in English.
They grew closer to closer and then one night several months later he told her
that he was being transferred to another city. He told her about how he was adopted
and it doesn’t matter what country you are from home is where you make it. After
the story ends the readers finds out that the couple got married and had a
child and they are the ones who are telling the story of their parents.
Culture Analysis:
This book is a beautiful book about the differences of two
countries and one young girl who grows up in both places. The describes how the
traditional Japanese children grow up eating rice and miso soup and plain green
tea and how at May’s friend’s house she ate pancakes, muffins and tea with milk
and sugar. When the author takes the reader back to japan the reader is able to
see how the traditional Japanese culture is. The girls have to wear kimonos and
have to learn flower arranging, calligraphy and about tea ceremonies. The
reader also learns that women do not drive or work in this culture. The
illustrations are also beautiful and help tell the story and give the reader a
visual of what is being described. The facial expressions of the character show
how May is feeling in different parts of the story. You are able to see how
unhappy she was when she met the man her mother arranged for her and how amazed
she was when she traveled to the big city. The reader is able to learn about the
different foods, attire, customs and more in this well written and beautiful
story about finding home and where you belong.
Editorial Reviews:
From Publishers Weekly
Say's masterfully executed watercolors tell as much of this
story about a young woman's challenging transition from America to Japan as his
eloquent, economical prose. Raised near San Francisco, Masako (her American
friends called her May) is uprooted after high school when her parents return
to their Japanese homeland. In addition to repeating high school to learn
Japanese, she must learn the arts of a "proper Japanese lady"Aflower
arranging, calligraphy and the tea ceremonyAand is expected to marry well.
Declaring "I'd rather have a turtle than a husband," the
independent-minded Masako heads for the city of Osaka and gets a job in a
department store. With his characteristic subtlety, Say sets off his cultural
metaphor from the very start, contrasting the green tea Masako has for
breakfast in her home, with the "tea with milk and sugar" she drinks
at her friends' houses in America. Later, when she meets a young Japanese
businessman who also prefers tea with milk and sugar to green tea, readers will
know that she's met her match. Say reveals on the final page that the couple
are his parents. Whether the subject is food ("no more pancakes or
omelets, fried chicken or spaghetti" in Japan) or the deeper issues of
ostracism (her fellow students call Masako "gaijin"Aforeigner) and
gender expectations, Say provides gentle insights into human nature as well as
East-West cultural differences. His exquisite, spare portraits convey emotions
that lie close to the surface and flow easily from page to reader: with views
of Masako's slumping posture and mask-like face as she dons her first kimono,
or alone in the schoolyard, it's easy to sense her dejection. Through choice
words and scrupulously choreographed paintings, Say's story communicates both the
heart's yearning for individuality and freedom and how love and friendship can
bridge cultural chasms. Ages 4-8.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 6-Continuing the story he started in
Grandfather's Journey (Houghton, 1993), Say explores familiar themes of
cultural connection and disconnection. He focuses on his mother Masako, or May,
as she prefers to be called, who, after graduating from high school in
California, unwillingly moves with her parents to their native Japan. She is
homesick for her native country and misses American food. She rebels against
her parents, who force her to repeat high school so that she can learn
"her own language"; the other students tease her for being
"gaijin" or a foreigner. Masako leaves home and obtains a job in a
department store in Osaka, a city that reminds her of her beloved San
Francisco. Her knowledge of English quickly makes her a valued employee and
brings her into contact with her future husband, Joseph, a Japanese man who was
educated at an English boarding school in Shanghai. They decide that together
they can make a life anywhere, and choose to remain in Japan. Say's many fans will
be thrilled to have another episode in his family saga, which he relates with
customary grace and elegance. The pages are filled with detailed drawings
featuring Japanese architecture and clothing, and because of the artist's
mastery at drawing figures, the people come to life as authentic and
sympathetic characters. This is a thoughtful and poignant book that will appeal
to a wide range of readers, particularly our nation's many immigrants who
grapple with some of the same challenges as May and Joseph, including feeling
at home in a place that is not their own.
From Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 6-When her Japanese-born parents leave
America for their homeland, an independent girl reluctantly follows and melds
her experience and her heritage to find a new meaning for the word
"home." This perfect marriage of artwork and text offers readers a
window into a different place and time. (May)
From Kirkus Reviews
In describing how his parents met, Say continues to explore
the ways that differing cultures can harmonize; raised near San Francisco and
known as May everywhere except at home, where she is Masako, the child who will
grow up to be Say's mother becomes a misfit when her family moves back to
Japan. Rebelling against attempts to force her into the mold of a traditional
Japanese woman, she leaves for Osaka, finds work as a department store
translator, and meets Joseph, a Chinese businessman who not only speaks
English, but prefers tea with milk and sugar, and persuades her that ``home
isn't a place or a building that's ready-made or waiting for you, in America or
anywhere else.'' Painted with characteristic control and restraint, Say's
illustrations, largely portraits, begin with a sepia view of a sullen child in
a kimono, gradually take on distinct, subdued color, and end with a formal shot
of the smiling young couple in Western dress. A stately cousin to Ina R.
Friedman's How My Parents Learned To Eat (1984), also illustrated by Say.
(Picture book. 7-9) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights
reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this
title.
Review: "Continuing to explore place and home, Say
tells the story of his mother, first introduced to readers in TREE OF CRANES.
Born in California to Japanese immigrants, Masako is miserable when she moves
to Japan with her parents after high school. The illustrations capture Masako's
unhappiness and also her eventual contentment as she learns to combine two
cultures." Horn Book
Similar Books:
The Year of the Dog
Lin, G. (2006). The year of the dog: A novel. New York:
Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-06000-3
Book Summary:
The year of the dog is suppose to be a lucky year for Grace.
Her family is the only Taiwanese American family in the neighborhood until the
Ling family moves in. The Ling family has a daughter named Melody and she is
the same age as Grace. The girls discovered that they have so much in common
and become great friends. They are having a lucky year until the boy Grace
likes doesn't like her and they don't win the science fair. They start to think
that maybe this year isn’t going to be lucky. Grace wins fourth place out of
many kids in the nation for a book writing and illustrating contest. Grace
realizes that the year has been lucky after all and meeting Melody and winning
the contest made a very lucky year for sure. Grace also gets a part in the
school play, but won't try out for the Dorothy character because there isn't a
Chinese Dorothy. Then, when she is selected as the munchkin to give Dorothy a
present, she is afraid people will laugh at a Chinese munchkin. She realizes
that there aren't any Asian/Pacific Americans in the stories she reads, so she
writes her own and is awarded at the end of the book.
Culture Analysis:
There is so much culture expressed in this amazing book. The
story starts off with a family getting things set up and ready for the Chinese
New Year. It goes on to give details about the holiday, for example Grace’s
mother gave them all Hong Bao or a red envelope with money in it. After the
Chinese new Year the reader can learn about what school was like in Taiwan when
Grace’s mom tell a story about her time in school. I found it interesting when
Grace, which her English name and her family calls her Pacy, says that she is
going to be the only Chinese girl in her school next year and actually she isn’t
Chinese, her parents came from Taiwan but people don’t understand where that is
and just include it with China and consider her Chinese. You are also able to
learn a lot about traditional foods from two different Taiwanese families when
grace eats dinner at Melody’s house. The reader is also able to learn about different
customs like the Red Egg party where they take red colored eggs to symbolize
good luck for a new baby. To go to the Red Egg party grace also had to get
dressed in her best Chinese clothes. Overall there is so much culture
throughout this whole book!
Editorial Reviews:
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5–A lighthearted coming-of-age novel with a cultural
twist. Readers follow Grace, an American girl of Taiwanese heritage, through
the course of one year–The Year of the Dog–as she struggles to integrate her
two cultures. Throughout the story, her parents share their own experiences that
parallel events in her life. These stories serve a dual purpose; they draw
attention to Graces cultural background and allow her to make informed
decisions. She and her two sisters are the only Taiwanese-American children at
school until Melody arrives. The girls become friends and their common
backgrounds illuminate further differences between the American and Taiwanese
cultures. At the end of the year, the protagonist has grown substantially.
Small, captioned, childlike black-and-white drawings are dotted throughout.
This is an enjoyable chapter book with easily identifiable characters.–Diane
Eddington, Los Angeles Public Library
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 3-5. When Lin was a girl, she loved the
Betsy books by Carolyn Hayward, a series about a quintessentially American girl
whose days centered around friends and school. But Lin, a child of Taiwanese
immigrants, didn't see herself in the pages. Now she has written the book she
wished she had as a child. Told in a simple, direct voice, her story follows
young Grace through the Year of the Dog, one that Grace hopes will prove lucky
for her. And what a year it is! Grace meets a new friend, another Asian girl,
and together they enter a science fair, share a crush on the same boy, and
enjoy special aspects of their heritage (food!). Grace even wins fourth place
in a national book-writing contest and finds her true purpose in life. Lin, who
is known for her picture books, dots the text with charming ink drawings, some
priceless, such as one picturing Grace dressed as a munchkin. Most of the
chapters are bolstered by anecdotes from Grace's parents, which connect Grace
(and the reader) to her Taiwanese heritage. Lin does a remarkable job capturing
the soul and the spirit of books like those of Hayward or Maud Hart Lovelace,
reimagining them through the lens of her own story, and transforming their
special qualities into something new for today's young readers. Ilene Cooper
Reviews:
* "Lin does a remarkable job capturing the soul and
spirit of books like those of Hayward or Maud Hart Lovelace, reimagining them
through the lens of her own story, and transforming their special qualities
into something new for today's young readers."―Booklist, starred review
"This comfortable first-person story will be a treat
for Asian-American girls looking to see themselves in their reading, but also
for any reader who enjoys stories of friendship and family life."―Kirkus
"Lin creates an endearing protagonist, realistically
dealing with universal emotions and situations. Girls everywhere, but
especially those in the Asian-American community, will find much to embrace
here."―Publishers Weekly
"Entertaining and often illuminating."―The Horn
Book
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