Rating: Needs *Major* Parent Supervision

Reading Level: Mid-late Elementary

A super introduction to the perspective of a Chinese immigrant, but not without many aspects of Chinese culture that are not biblical:

  • Heavy emphasis on luck, superstition, and omens
  • Prayers to “the goddess of mercy”
  • Warding off evil spirits with various tactics, including use of a gourd (?)
  • Reference to “in a previous life…”
  • Reference to Buddha
  • Elders treating children with little or no value

…As well as negatives not particularly associated with Chinese culture:

  • Calling someone “fat,” references to a woman or girl being ugly and/or never finding a husband
  • Cigarettes, shopping for Lucky Strike
  • Reference to naked bodies in a book (turns out it was an anatomy book, not porn, but the girls didn’t realize it at the time and still thought they were being naughty).
  • Bullying
  • Fears of living among “Cowboys and Indians” with gunshots and arrows flying around, as if that’s all there is to thee people.

Overall, I’d rate this as Not for Me, but there is potentially incredible educational value to the immigrant perspective. I’d only recommend it if a family reads it together. However, for a perhaps better children’s intro to Chinese culture, I recommend Little Pear, which is very entertaining and spends more time in China.