American Born Chinese

I've been on a graphic novel kick lately! Early this summer, I read American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. This fictional book is divided into three different, yet related, stories: a tale of the magical monkey king, the story of a Chinese boy named Jin Wang who struggles to fit in, and a middle school boy, Danny, who is embarrassed by his cousin Chin-Kee (an Asian stereotype). This is a quick, entertaining read, but don't be fooled--the author definitely has a message for us all at the end of it (and you'll have to read it to find out what that is)!

I have a copy of this book in my classroom and you can also check it out of our FC library.



Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. New York: First Second, 2006.

Maus

Last school year, I read these two FANTASTIC graphic novels by Art Spiegelman, Maus: A Survivor's Tale. My husband, a graphic novel enthusiast (borderline obsessed) told me that these books are by far the most famous graphic novels out there. Now I know why.

While the artwork seems fictional (Jews being depicted as mice, Nazis as cats, etc.), I assure you that these books are nonfiction. Art Spiegelman's parents survived the Holocaust. These books are his interviews with his frail father, Vladek (his mother, we learn, committed suicide). What sets this book apart from other Holocaust novels is Art's ability to retell his parents' story. He is really honest, too, about his at-times strained relationship with his father.

It's a tough read, as all Holocaust texts are, but a great one. I highly recommend these books to anyone who is a WWII buff and/or anyone interested in Holocaust literature. They can be found in our FC library, too!

Spiegelman, Art. Maus I: My Father Bleeds History. New York: Pantheon Books, 1973.
Spiegelman, Art. Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began. New York: Pantheon Books, 1986.