Read Aloud for Modern East Asia

[Jackie]

My daughter and I have been reading our way around the world. Our ideal read alouds for this project are:

* set in modern times (last 20 years-ish)

* feature kids

* in everyday situations

* appropriate for upper elementary (though we've used books for slightly younger and slightly older)

 

We seem to be getting stuck finding books for China, Japan, or the Koreas that fit these parameters. Any ideas?

[Farrar]

Huh. I'm stumped too. I can think of books that feature everyday Asian American kids, like Millicent Min or Alvin Ho. I can think of 20th century historical fiction like My Name Was Keoko or Red Scarf Girl. But I can't think of anything contemporary.

 

You know... this isn't totally an Asia specific issue though. At least, I don't think. Other than some "issue" books like, say, The Breadwinner, there aren't a lot of books set in other countries contemporary to now. There's a lot more historical fiction.

[egao_gakari]

Man, there really aren't many are there? I had to dig deep into the bowels of Amazon to find these, and I'm not sure any of them would suit your needs... I haven't read any of them, but these were the ones that looked like I'd read them with my upper-elementary kid.

 

Hachiko Waits, a true story about a dog that waited for her master for 10 years. Hachi is a Japanese cultural icon. Everyone knows her story and the little statue of her that stands at the train station is a huge tourist attraction.

Are You An Echo? Tells two stories, that of a young poet at the turn of the century, Misuzu Kaneko, and of the person who rediscovered her poetry a century later.

My Awesome Japan Adventure looks kind of kitschy, but it's about an American boy who does a homestay in Japan.

Somewhere Among is about a Japanese-American girl who is living in Tokyo at the time of 9/11. It's a novel in verse, which is kind of cool. I think this one looks the best!

[Lori D.]

What age/grade range are you looking for?

 

CCBC Global Reading -- children's books by continent; mix of time periods

 

 

These were the only things I could find that were 20th century, and weren't for middle/high school:

 

China (1970s) Revolution is Not a Dinner Party (Compestine)

Thailand (? 20th c.?) - Breath of the Dragon (Giles)

Thailand (1970s) - Rice Without Rain (Ho)

Cambodia (1970s) - The Clay Marbel (Ho)

Vietnam (1950s) - The Land I Lost; Water Buffalo Days (Nhuong)

 

[Farrar]

I guess there are some picture books... but seriously, I can't think of many chapter books that feature primarily characters from another country just doing their thing in the other country contemporary to now other than English speaking countries which produce their own children's literature. Like, the way you asked the question, Jackie, implies that you found these books for other places. I can think of a few (Anna Hibiscus in Nigeria, for example), but not a lot. Most are about historical time periods or feature Americans traveling to these places. Have you found plenty for other places?

 

I think part of this is that not a lot of other countries have rich children's literature traditions of their own so there's almost no children's books in translation.

[Jackie]

I honestly never thought this project would be so difficult. I'm not looking for books for each country, but rather about one per "region" with a region extremely loosely defined as we're simply fitting the books in among our other family read alouds. We do read other books for the various countries/regions, so this is only one piece of the project.

 

We loved the Violet Mackerel series from Australia. Kind of a more modern Ramona Quimby. Aimed at K-2, I'd estimate. I also read Does My Head Look Big in This, a YA coming-of-age book about a Muslim Australian that I enjoyed and fit the parameters but didn't fit my particular child as well as the younger series.

 

Then we did Noodle Pie, about a second generation immigrant child living in Australia and visiting his heritage country (and family) of Vietnam for the first time. Good read. I also had Silk Umbrella by Carolyn Marsden on hand, which would have worked but I didn't like as much for my particular child.

 

I plan on Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins, set in Bangladesh, up next. Published ten years ago, focusing on gender issues that feel dated to me but aren't dated for the region. I read Boys Without Names, but it was one of the most hopeless, depressing books I've read in a good long while. I on the library waitlist for the book that Lion was based on, but I suspect it will also be especially heavy and depressing.

 

Those books weren't easy to find, but they weren't crazy difficult, and I had choices. I never imagined China and/or Japan was where I'd first come up completely empty handed. I mean, those aren't exactly obscure places on the globe, know what I mean?

 

We have found books for other places, but the project is new. If we draw a blank here, we'll keep at it for other regions.

Edited September 19, 2017 by Jackie

[Laura Corin]

I can think of mid-twentieth century books for China and Hong Kong, but not later.

[egao_gakari]

I know that in Japan, children's books about "kids just doing their thing" on the order of Ramona Quimby aren't super uncommon, but they're also highly unlikely to be selected for translation into English. Part of the problem is the orientalist lens through which a majority of Westerners still view East Asia--much more interested in "Japan, the Beautiful" (calligraphy, geisha, etc) or "Japan, the Weird" (bizarre flavors of ice cream, toppings on pizza, alcohol vending machines, Harajuku girls) than "Japan, the relatively conservative, highly developed country."

 

That being said, if you would consider movie recommendations, one that I'd say is appropriate for upper-elementary would be Whisper In The Heart. It's a bit dated at this point (1993), but it beautifully depicts a junior high school girl's rather mundane life and how she finds the magic in it through her vivid imagination. Although it's animated, when I first went to Japan after being saturated in Japanese pop culture, I looked around and realized that Whisper in the Heart was the only thing I'd seen that prepared me for the reality of living there. I actually lived in the town that was the model for it and it's striking how realistic it was. The way parents interact with children, what Japan sounds like in summer time, the kind of things they eat and wear and the way they get around (bike and public transit), even how cramped the living quarters tend to be.

 

Basically any film by Studio Ghibli will realistically depict life in Japan, with fantasy elements layered on top. But Whisper in the Heart is the only one with the fantasy elements being clearly a product of a character's imagination. If you can't find a book but still want to provide the basic information on how kids live over there, you could do worse than a well-made film  :thumbup1:

[Farrar]

Jackie, I think the first places you selected were a country where English is spoken so of course there's children's books about kids there, and a place where there are "issues" that people would like to bring attention to, so there are sometimes books about that. I think if you're planning to do this for a lot of places, you may struggle a little just because this is not a common genre of children's book in general. Like, I started trying to think if there are chapter level children's books about everyday European kids being kids and I couldn't think of any. Or of any South American kids. Maybe they're out there... but I genuinely am drawing a bit of a blank.

[Lori D.]

For contemporary times, everyday situations, rather than fiction, what about going through some children's non-fiction -- books that show the cultural, foods, games, homes and homelife, types of work, etc.?

 

And while it's not what you're requesting, one great way to understand the mindset of a contemporary culture is to learn about the religion(s) and myths of that people's past. So children's picture books drawn in the art style of the culture of classic myths and folktales of the culture can help you understand how/why a culture is very different from one's own.

 

Also, if you are willing to do feature films with subtitles, there are some great movies out there that are very do-able for upper elementary, set in contemporary times. The pacing is also foreign, so much slower than we are used to, and NOT action plot lines -- usually they are NOT about a story, but just seeing people in every day life. These films require patience and *watching* to absorb what's going on. But it's very worthwhile! :)

 

Baran = Iraq & Afghanistan

Children of Heaven = Iran

Cave of the Yellow Dog = Mongolia

Story of the Weeping Camel = Mongolia

Babies = babies in their contemporary homes in about 6 different countries of the world

Edited September 19, 2017 by Lori D.

[Farrar]

I agree that I think you'll have more luck with films. Like, my kids loved the documentary Please Vote for Me, which is about three kids running for class president in a Chinese school. It was adorable and interesting and very much just a little slice of life without much of an agenda (it was made to look at burgeoning concepts of democracy in China, but really the thing you see most is just these kids being kids).

 

The Eagle Huntress is a wonderful film about a girl in Mongolia. Another documentary, but again, one that kids like.

 

The suggestion of watching a Studio Ghibli movie is also good. Like, Ponyo, yeah, it's got fantasy elements, but you also will see a lot of everyday life in a Japanese village by the shore (and food!!!).

 

 

[Jackie]

Some of these elements are things we are already including. I have a stack of nonfiction books covering culture, food, kids, family life, religion, and schooling. I usually pull a stack of picture books from the library that get into history or folk tales. That part was easy to find. We have a good world cookbook and live in a city with a variety of restaurants, and she is enjoying making and trying new foods. For whatever reason, DD isn't into movies and generally has little or no interest in watching them. When she does watch movies, she often chooses documentaries, so those would be appreciated; I'm finding some docus and travel shows on Netflix and Amazon, but they're not the most searchable interfaces. She will always opt for a book over a movie, and the stories stick with her better so that's why I'm trying to include a fiction selection for various regions as well.

 

ETA: All to say that if I don't find a suitable fiction read aloud, it's not going to derail the Cultural Geography study. Just a bit disappointed. I appreciate all the alternatives!

Edited September 20, 2017 by Jackie

[LauraBeth475]

What about The Year of the Panda for China?

[rose]

Have you thought about National Georgraphic articles or the likes? My dc have loved NG for years now.