City Within a City: How Kids Live in New York's Chinatown (World of My Own) - Softcover

Grade 3-7-Through conversations with two 12-year-old residents, Chao Liu and Sze Ki Chau, Krull presents an overview of life in New York City's Chinatown, making brief observations about crowded streets, vegetable stands, tourists, immigrants, crime, gangs, holidays, food, stereotypes, and traditions. Unfortunately, there is not enough solid information here for report writers, and Chinese youngsters may find the text's many generalizations hurtful. A photograph of four teenagers playing handball on a graffiti-filled court does not necessarily mean "signs of gang activity..."; and it is unlikely that Chao's first language is English if his parents do not speak it. To describe the local cuisine as looking to an outsider like it comes "from another planet" is insulting; it is also not accurate to describe the New Year Festival as "more frightening than festive" to children. The author notes that many non-Catholic Chinese attend Catholic school, but neglects to point out that in New York many non-Catholics attend parochial schools. Some of the descriptions of Chinatown are also applicable to other ethnic communities in New York, and so the presentation of the Chinese experience as totally unique is misleading.
Susan Pine, New York Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

These attractive debut titles in the A World of My Own series combine lively photography and simple text to introduce two very different communities. Each book focuses on specific children who live in the area, describing their routines at home, in school and with friends. Emphasis is placed on the joys and problems of participating in two cultures. City , for example, examines how many Chinese young people act as interpreters for immigrant parents, how Americanization affects tradition and how individuals learn to incorporate old attitudes with new opportunities. In The Other Side , three Latino children cope with transitions between their California neighborhood and the Mexican town of Tijuana, where many members of their families still live. Krull ( Lives of the Musicians ) makes skillful use of quotes from the various subjects, allowing their voices and experiences to command center stage. Hautzig's ( DJ's, Ratings, and Hook Tapes ) candid photos tend to emphasize daytime street scenes in City , while The Other Side displays a more dramatic range. Sidebars address additional topics of interest, such as stereotypes, art, food and the history of the communities; helpful maps provide reference. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.