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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Salem Main Library | J ILLUST Yang, B. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Library | E YAN | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
With Chinese-influenced paintings in jewel-like colors, Belle Yang tells an immigration tale that reflects one of the many facets of the American dream.
Hannah is my name in this new country. It doesn't sound at all like my
Chinese name, Na-Li, which means beautiful.
It's a long way from Taiwan to San Francisco, but Hannah's family has made the journey because they want to make America their home. Here in America, Baba tells his daughter, people are free to say what they think, and children can grow up to be whatever they choose. And so Hannah takes a new name, begins a new school, learns a new language, and starts to adjust to a new way of life. Meanwhile, they all wait -- and hope -- for the arrival of the green cards that will assure they are finally home to stay.
Author Notes
Belle Yang was born in 1960 in Taiwan and came to the United States with her parents at the age of seven. She has studied at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design and the Beijing Institute of Traditional Chinese Painting. She has had solo museum shows and has written and illustrated two highly praised adult books and a picture book. She says, "HANNAH IS MY NAME is based on our first years in San Francisco. I missed my old friends and teacher, but it was not a miserable yearning. It was a great privilege to come to the United States, and we didn't look back."
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-A girl describes her family's journey from Taiwan to the United States in 1967, explaining that she must give up her Chinese name, Na-Li, and adjust to her unfamiliar American name. Hannah relates how she and her parents try to adapt to a new way of life, observing the strange customs that they encounter and detailing the obstacles that they all must face. They immediately apply for green cards, a process that demands an interminable wait. Yang draws a parallel between Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream of freedom and Hannah's family's quest for equal opportunity, but the narrative deals primarily with Mama and Baba's efforts to secure legal status and work. The significance of the green card, what immigrants must do to find employment, and the portrayal of the immigrant community's support for newcomers are all neatly presented. The setting-San Francisco with its skyline, bridges, hilly streets, and Chinatown-as well as elements of Chinese culture are nicely evoked in both the text and artwork. Engaging gouache illustrations comprised of vivid colors, dynamic perspectives, and stylized figures in two-dimensional views reflect the influence of the block print. Pair this autobiographical tale with Helen Recorvits's My Name Is Yoon (Farrar, 2003), a book that touches on similar themes about being a stranger in a strange land.-Marian Creamer, Children's Literature Alive, Portland, OR (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(Primary) A young girl newly transplanted from Taiwan narrates this story set in 1967 San Francisco. Na-Li, now called Hannah, and her parents nervously await the arrival of their green cards; her father gets undocumented work but must constantly watch out for immigration inspectors. While they wait, Hannah completes first grade and begins the second, grows two inches, and loses her friend Janie, whose family returns to Hong Kong when her father is caught working without a green card. Author-artist Yang's autobiographical story has just the right amount of tension, and Hannah's family's sincere devotion to their new country is touching and simply expressed. The time period is well established: at school Hannah sings ""This Land Is Your Land,"" and her teacher cries when Martin Luther King Jr. is murdered. The narrative retains Hannah's point of view consistently and makes good use of child-friendly imagery (""We...check the mailbox. All day long our hope stretches out like a rubber band. It snaps back when the green cards are not there""). Deeply colored paintings match the strong emotions, and the endpapers, contrasting Hannah's home country and her adopted one, display the beauty of both landscapes; the story's theme of hope is especially well conveyed by the cheerful family, waving good-bye and then hello. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
This thoughtful offering is based on Yang's own immigration story, and is told from the perspective of seven-year-old Hannah, who moves with her mother and father from Taiwan to San Francisco. The story is richly detailed, and effectively conveys what it's like to come to a new country from a faraway place and adjust to life in unfamiliar surroundings. The child changes her name (they choose Hannah, because it's deemed easy to learn) and the family waits for the green cards that will ensure their future in America. The tension is palpable. Yang's colorful gouache illustrations effectively convey this mix of excitement and anxiety. Despite a jarring reference to Martin Luther King Jr. that places the otherwise contemporary-sounding tale in the 1960s, Yang's offering is winner--a spot-on depiction of the immigrant experience in America. (Picture book. 5-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
K-Gr. 3. In an upbeat immigration story, Yang draws on her own experience of coming to America from Taiwan at age seven in the late 1960s. The bright gouache pictures of San Francisco draw strongly on Chinese and American traditions, with geometric cutout shapes depicting people crowding the streets, at school, and at the workplace--all from the child's viewpoint. This story isn't about missing the old country or being a stranger, and most people are friendly. Hannah learns to sing This Land Is My Land, and she reads Curious George in Woolworths. The tension is in the threat of deportation as the family waits for green cards that will allow everyone to live freely in the U.S. Mama and Papa work, but they hide from the officials who come to check their papers; Hannah's friend's family is sent back to Taiwan. The struggle with documentation and the celebration when the green cards finally arrive in the mail is a drama many immigrant families will recognize. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2004 Booklist