Status
Check shelf
Call number
Genres
Publication
HMH Books for Young Readers (1999), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 32 pages
Description
After growing up near San Francisco, a young Japanese woman returns with her parents to their native Japan, but she feels foreign and out of place.
Local notes
1308-220
Media reviews
Booklist
Hazel Rochman (Booklist, March 15, 1999 (Vol. 95, No. 14))
On the title page of Say's new picture book, there is a small frame from his Caldecott-winning Grandfather's Journey (1993), a picture of his mother, Masako, as a Japanese American child in California. Say tells her immigrant story: how,
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when she finished high school in California, her restless, homesick father took the family back to live in his village in Japan. Masako becomes a foreigner in her parents' country, longing for home in San Francisco. Instead of college, she has to go back to high school to learn Japanese. She must learn to be a "proper" Japanese lady. Say's watercolors are quieter in line and color this time, and the text is much longer. Together, they tell an elemental story that will appeal to everyone who feels a stranger at home. The pictures of Masako show her sad and wooden, bound up in a kimono, kneeling on the floor, or walking alone in the empty schoolyard. In a climactic scene, she sits fuming on a park bench next to the stuffy banker with whom an arranged marriage is planned. When she rebels and breaks away, the bright red color of her fitted dress is as startling to us as to the staring villagers. Like many foreigners everywhere, she discovers her home in the city, where she finds work, opportunity, and a husband from an even more diverse background than her own. They speak English ("at last, a real conversation"); they drink their tea with milk and sugar; and when their son, Allen, is born, they speak English to each other and Japanese to him. Both an "ugly duckling" romance and a universal story of leaving home, this is a picture book that will have intense appeal for older readers. Category: Middle Readers. 1999, Houghton/Walter Lorraine, $17. Gr. 4-8. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member Katie20
This is a book about a little girl named Masako/ Ma-Chan. She had many names. In English her name was May. She lived in San Francisco, but when she graduated from highschool they moved back to Japan. She did not want to leave her home. She had to return to highschool to learn Japanese. No one would
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talk to her, and she did not understand. She did not know if it was because she could only speak English. She did not want to get married. She wanted to go to college, but she was destined to marry a banker. She wanted to leave, so she bought a ticket to Osaka. She decided to work in the city. It was just like San Francisco. She got a job as an elevator girl. She then began to work at the main entrance bowing at people. She then saw Americans and began to talk to them. The man had a new job for her. She was the store guide for foreign businessman. She met a man named Joseph. He spoke English, and was learning Japanese. They went to tea. They began to fall in love. They decided to share eachothers company. They then got married and had a daughter. She was the writer of the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member dfarhat
Tea with Milk is a beautifully illustrated recounting of his parents meeting. The story begins in San Francisco, where May, lives with her parents. They decide to move to Japan and May becomes a foreigner in her parents' home country. May finds a way to integrate and make herself a home.
LibraryThing member elpowers
Great book- beautiful illustrations, and an interesting story line. Teaches of a different time period's and different cultured expectations.
LibraryThing member mcbalducci
great book on diversity and fitting in.
LibraryThing member Tien.Nguyen
May(Masako) lives in San Francisco.She likes to drink tea with milk. She wants to go to college when she graduated from high school over here. But her parents want to go back to Japan. Masako has to go back to high school again. When she goes to school, she has to speak Japanese. She feels that she
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is allien. She go to city and finds a job where she can speak English. An then she marrried Joseph. Show Less
LibraryThing member countrylife
I fell in love with Allen Say's paintings in his book Grandfather's Journey. Tea picks up more of that story. When Grandfather takes his family to return to Japan, his daughter, May, finds herself very homesick for San Francisco, and misses her American friends and customs, including tea with milk
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and sugar. This is another lovely book, sparsely written, but poignant. (4.3 stars) Show Less
LibraryThing member nmv003
This is about a little girl who is from china and grows up in america. When her parents get homesick she is forced to move back to China and start a new life. But she doesnt know how to conform to the new life and doesnt want to. Lets she what she does.
LibraryThing member pgreenley
Allen Say's realistic water colors are used to great effect in this picture book about his mother's life. The first few pages show scenes that look like they must be taken straight from old family photos. The story is a touching and relatable tale of learning to fit in and is especially relevant to
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the many modern stories of feeling like a stranger in both places that you have claim to. Show Less
LibraryThing member KimReadingLog
This beautifully illustrated picture book tells the story of May, the only daughter of Japanese-born parents who live in the United States. When she graduates from high school, they move back to Japan – a home May has never known. The story tells about May’s struggle to find her true identity
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and maintain her individuality in a foreign culture, and how she finds happiness in this different place. At the end, we learn that May is actually the author’s mother. The watercolor pictures do a wonderful job of contrasting a restrictive Japanese culture with the freer American culture. Show Less
LibraryThing member MarthaL
An Americanized Japanese goes back to Japan and struggles to fit in. Her mother wants her to learn the culture and expects her to be a proper Japanese lady for the purpose of find a husband. She has even hired a matchmaker.
LibraryThing member kthomp25
Touching story of a young girl who becomes a foreigner in her home country when her parents return to Japan after living in the US.
LibraryThing member rsimmons
It was about a young girl that has grown up in America and has to move back to Japan with her family. The young girl feels like a foreigner and she has to learn many things over because of the different culture. She wants to move back to America but she finds out that Japan is not so foreign to her
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after all. Show Less
LibraryThing member kcsutherland
A young Japanese girl, who grew up in San Francisco, moves to Japan with her homesick parents. She feels very out of place, and has to learn how to become a proper Japanese lady. She wants to move back to San Francisco and live the life of an American woman like she has done her whole life.
LibraryThing member vabrazzolotto
This story is about a young girl named May(Masako/Ma-Chan). Her parents are from Japan, but May was born and raised in California. When she graduated high school she and her parents moved to Japan. May did not want to move nad was not happy there. She had to go back to school and learn Japanese.
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She was very unhappy and no one talked to her. She ran away to a city named Osaka. There she got a job. She met a man, Joseph, and they were married. Show Less
LibraryThing member mbstrickland
This is a great book that tells of a young Japanese girl being born in California and moving back to her homeland of Japan. She does like having to become a proper Japanses lady and wants to return to America. She gets a job and marries an English speaking Japanese man. This book would be perfect
Author website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Say
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to read when talking about different countries cultures or having to move away. Author website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Say
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LibraryThing member amcannova
I liked this story and the other one I read by this author was very similar. I think they have a lot of experience traveling the world and the way this author writes it makes me think he has lived these tales. The pictures are very graphic and beautiful.
LibraryThing member smendel18
This book is about a young girl that is forced to move from San Francisco back to her parents native country of Japan. There she is forced to start over learning the language and customs of her heritage. She feels left out and alone, and wants to be back in the city. Slowly, she grows accustomed to
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Japan and finds a job and a man. This book takes you through her journey and transformation into a typical young Japanese woman. This book would be great for older kids. The ideas are simple but the story is complex. Show Less
LibraryThing member dukefan86
I enjoyed the mix of cultural diversity and a resourceful teenage girl in this story. Lovely illustrations, to boot! Would give it 4.5 stars if I could.
LibraryThing member Remy_Ferrell
Truly an amazing book with an interesting main character. Masako is a person who I really enjoyed because she tries so hard to accomplish her dreams. It made me happy to feel her emotions as the story progressed. As a person who loves Japan, I was glad to see that some racism issues were in the
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story as I think that is part of a culture that people should see. The pictures in the book were also really good. They showed off Japan in the way it should be shown. Really good book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Salsabrarian
I love this book! It made me cry! It is the story of a young Japanese-American woman whose parents decided to return to Japan from San Francisco. Being thoroughly Americanized, May (Masako) has a difficult time adjusting and especially dislikes the idea of being matchmade. She sets off for Osaka
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where the city appeals to her and gets a job as an elevator girl. She is thoroughly bored by the job but when she is able to help as an interpreter she gets a more interesting job as a store guide for foreign businessmen. Through this job she meets a new friend, Joseph, who eventually becomes her husband. Turns out this is the story of Allen Say’s mother. Touching, heartwarming, charming, not a word wasted. Show Less
LibraryThing member engpunk77
A Japanese American is brought back to Japan with her parents in her late teens. She hates the customs of Japan, especially the roles and expectations for women. She ends up realizing that she can make happiness wherever she lives and remains true to herself, even in Japan.
This narratives subtly
This narratives subtly
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addresses themes such as feminism (in a good way), being yourself, and making the best of your circumstances (adapting). The protagonist is a surprising heroine, especially to girls, even though she's not in any way famous. She refuses to be trapped by stereotypes and cultural norms, and chooses the path her parents would have wanted her to, anyway (marrying, staying in Japan, wearing Kimonos), on her own terms. Show Less
LibraryThing member lriver5
this is a great book for to illustrate multicultural customs and ways. A young girl named May is returned to Japan after completing high school in America and is left feeling as an outsider in the land her parents call home. May must learn the customs and culture of her heritage and wonders where
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she belongs. Great story for 4-6 grades. Show Less
LibraryThing member Natoya
This could be a great book for a multicultural lesson. It could also serve as a book to read on diversity to show students that people can be different and the same as each other. The reading level is a 3.5.
LibraryThing member Gamino
This could be a great book for a multicultural lesson. It could also serve as a book to read on diversity to show students that people can be different and the same as each other. The reading level is a 3.5.
LibraryThing member Jclark5
A great multicultural and socially educating book for kids. Tells the story of a mother's transition between cultures and her harsh reality with finding herself along the way. This is a good book for an older age group as it has real life changes and important ideas about culture.
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original publication date
1999
Physical description
32 p.; 9.88 x 0.35 inches
ISBN
0395904951 / 9780395904954
UPC
046442904957