There‘s something magical about a book for kiddos that manages to capture everything from the joy of baseball to the complexities of the American dream — and Bette Bao Lord pulled it off in 1984 with In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. This week on my book pod, author Traci Chee joins me for a deep dive into this gem of a story. ⚾️ Link to listen in my bio!
pickRe-reading, almost 30 extra years of life experience brings out details I missed: Shirley being just thrown into fifth grade despite the fact that she knows almost no English, how diverse her classroom is, and how some of the language the American kids use hints at larger issues of discrimination (such as telling Shirley to go back to the laundry). But Shirley's story feels so universal, being the new kid and wanting to belong so very, very badly.
pickSo much a pick! Give it to kids... and it's a lovely, kind story to read as an adult. Highly recommended
Suddenly Shirley understood why her father had brought her 10,000 miles to live among strangers. Here, she did not have to wait for gray hairs to be considered wise. Here, she could speak up, question even the conduct of the President. Here, Shirley Temple Wong was somebody. She felt as if she had the power of ten tigers, as if she had grown as tall as the Statue of Liberty. #America #immigrants #important
My favorite of all my childhood #diversebooks for today's #seasonsreadings2016. #weneeddiversebooks
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson | 
