Children's Chinese Book Garden

Mi Ling Tsui

  Mi Ling Tsui was a producer of a Bill Moyers Special – Becoming American, the Chinese experience. “In every immigrant group, each generation finds a balance between the values and practices of its heritage, and the mores of its adopted country. What is lost and what is gained, both personally and culturally, when one sheds part of one's heritage to make way for a new self-identity?”  This program “explores this dramatic portion of America's history and confront myths about the Chinese in America that have flourished in the void.” Prior to that, Mi Ling had worked with Bill Moyers in 1992 on the weekly PBS series Listening to America with Bill Moyers, and at ABC News for over six years on Century: America's Time with Peter Jennings. Mi Ling currently works as the communication director for Human Rights in China.

We acquired a copy of the whole series of Becoming American, the Chinese Experience. Children viewed some parts of the series that told stories of various Chinese immigrants to the US. They then interviewed Mi Ling in her office in the Empire State Building (right across from us). First watching the documentary and then seeing one of the main person who made the documentary was exciting to children. The friendliness of Mi Ling and her colleagues, the information they offered children, and the stories from the film all helped us get a great start with our Chinese community study.

Craig Low

  Craig Low is the President of Lee & Low Books, “an independent children's book publisher specializing in diversity”. The company has its goal to meet the need for stories that children of color can identify with and that all children can enjoy.  Since its inception in 1991 and the company has published books that “have won a number of major awards and honors, including the Coretta Scott King Award, the Pura Belpré Honor Award, The Parents' Choice Award; The Jane Addams Peace Award; Child Magazine's Best Books; a Reading Rainbow Feature Title; American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists" honors; and "Choices" honors by the Cooperative Children's Book Center. Furthermore, Lee & Low Books has also received praise from a broad range of media, such as Te New York Times, Publishers Weekly, CBS This Morning, USA Today, Kirkus Review, and Smithsonian Magazine.”

Throughout the 2nd week, we read nine books published by Lee & Low. The quantity was not large, but each offered a story that may stay in these children’s mind for a long time. We started with Knockin’ on Wood. I asked children to tell me who liked to dance. Many hands went up. I then asked them what the most important body parts were for dancing. They told me legs and feet. I asked them to imagine whether they would be able to dance if they had lost one leg. They all shook their heads, saying it’s impossible. Then I told them that we’d read a story about a man who became a great dancer even though he had only one leg. Then all eye pored over the pages and we finished the story in one breath.

Over the week, we read the Can Man, Raymond’s Perfect Present, Seeds of Change, Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds, Passage to Freedom, Cycle of Rice, and also Caravan, which Sam shared with the class after he got the book during our visit to Lee & Lows. On Wed, we had the opportunity to visit the Lee & Low office. Craig first gave children a detailed interview in their conference room. Children rushed to their seats when they saw a book, and a lollipop was waiting for each of them. Behind the conference table is a tall book shelf, showcasing many of the Lee & Low books, including those our children by now could recognize.  Craig told child the process through which children's books were made, published and ditributed. Children also had lots questions for him.

As Craig’s brother Jason Low once wrote, “It is important for children to see faces like their own staring back at them from the pages of a book. It also makes a lasting impression when people in the book have made a difference or contribution.” We would add to this by saying that it is also important for children to see faces different from their own and associate them with positive forces of the community and society. According to many studies, although children at a young age tend to favor members of their own ethnic group due to their limited experiences with members of other groups, some of them grow up to be open-minded people who are comfortable with different people as well as knowledgeable about them. That growth comes from exposure, exposure and exposure to diversity. Learning about Lee & Low Books this summer precisely afforded children such an invaluable exposure.

Dr. Haiping Cheng

  Dr. Haiping Cheng is an accomplished microbiologist in the Biology Department of Lehman College, City University of New York. He studies how leguminous plants (e.g., various bean plants) form symbiosis with bacteria that provide nitrogen for the healthy growth of the plants. He leads a research team, mentors doctoral students and undergraduate students, and is also the father of two young children. There are several reasons why a visit to his lab can be very educational and fun.

Before our visit to Dr. Cheng, children discussed germs that they couldn’t see with their eyes. We learned that the word for all of them is microorganisms. Through examples, children clarified the concept that some of them do good things for us (e.g., help us make yogurt or bread), and others do bad things (e.g., make us sick or give us tooth cavities). We made yogurt and rising dough. We made a book about microorganisms. Gregory also showed the class his many soft toy viruses, bacteria and cells, such as white blood cells, neurons, ecoline, and so on.

On Wed, we took the 4 train and visited Dr. Haiping Cheng’s lab on Lehman College campus. Many microscopes and dissecting scopes had been set up on the tables of a conference room. Dr. Cheng first taught us to observe the plants we collected in the front yard of his building under the dissecting scopes. We saw the leaves, stems and fruits magnified many times. Ariane made an interesting design with leaves and a small red cherry and we all fought to watch the design under the scope. We then looked at our hands and they seemed to be more interesting than we thought.

Then, Dr. Cheng adjusted two microscopes, and put a sample of yeast under one, and a sample of mold under the other. Children took turns to look for the yeast and mold bacteria under microscopes.   Yeast organisms were tiny blue dots loosely distributed. Children marveled at the mold bacteria – painted in red and shaped as lines, “They are like a piece of art!” as a few children said.

Then, Dr. Cheng gave us a presentation that was specially made for us. He showed us photos of microscope photos of algae, bread yeast, bacteria of different shapes, the bacteria in yogurt, bacteria growing on a model tooth, flu virus, happy alfalfa plants with the help of bacteria (contained in nodules on the plant roots), and dead alfalfa plants without the help of bacteria.  Dr. Cheng explained how algae grow in water, how bread yeast make air in dough, and how bacteria can make teeth rotten. He also told us that he studies how bacteria manage to get under the surface of alfalfa plant roots to help the plants make nutrition.  Lively conversations formulated during Dr. Cheng’s presentation. As he explained the process during which bacteria hurt our teeth and took the chance to emphasize the importance of brushing teeth, Melissa challenged him and said “How come I brush teeth much more often than my brother and eat much less sweet, but I got more cavities than my brother does?” How close Melissa’s report is to reality we yet need to verify with her parents, but I’m glad Dr. Cheng didn’t get into tooth genetics. It may be too early for children to know that genes play a role as well. Dr. Cheng was sure surprised when Gregory explained to the class that viruses are much smaller than bacteria. Later on, I couldn’t even understand enough to take note of Gregory’s question about macrophage. I had to email Dr. Cheng after the visit to ask him to send in Gregory’s question and his answer.

Jason Fang

Jason Fan immigrated to America many years ago and has been working hard to realize his American dream. Now, he owes a wine store, a restaurant and he just old his hair saloon. He speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, Fujianese and English. His restaurant Ichiro, located near South Street Seaport, specializes in Japanese style food, including sushi.

On Monday of the 4th week, we read another Lee & Low book entitled Hiromi’s Hands. It talks about how a Japanese young man became a sushi chef after 7 years of hard training, came to work in a sushi restaurant in New York City, got married, and had a daughter named Hiromi. While still a little girl, Hiromi wanted to spend more time with her hard-working father. So, she insisted on going to the Fulton fish market near South Street Seaport to buy fish every morning with her father before she went to school. She then persuaded her father that although almost impossible back in Japan, she, as a girl, would become a sushi chef. After 7 years of training with her father, she became an outstanding sushi chef. She took over her father’s restaurant so that her parents finally were able to take a break and visit their relatives in Japan after 35 years.

This is a wonderful book. It has so many elements that are great for our children and for that week. Immigrant families work hard to achieve their American dreams. Girls can do anything, particularly in America. Making sushi requires lots of skills and only seemingly boring training can afford anyone such skills. The Fulton fish market may be an interesting place…

On Wed, we visited Jason's Sushi restaurant Ichiro. As the restaurant is located around South Street Seaport, we got to pass the previous Fulton Fish Market where little Hiromi spent lots of time learning about fish with her father (it was moved to the Bronx a few years ago). In the restaurant, children observed how the chefs made sushi, and we ordered California rolls and Sushi regular (with raw fish). Most of our children, such as Tancredi, Zoe, Sadie, Chloe had not had sushi before, and were adventurous enough to try. Tancredi, Zoe and Sadie all tried sushi with raw fish, whereas Chloe tried several pieces of California rolls. After tasting a piece of sushi with raw fish, Sadie said “It’s not as bad as I thought.”

The day following the visit, we started to hear children’s responses to the visit. Zoe told her parents that she wanted to become a girl sushi chef like Hiromi did, and the family went to a sushi restaurant and she ordered a plate of sushi for herself. After hearing her daughter eagerly describing the pieces of sushi she had eaten, Sadie’s mother Carol said that “From now on, when we go to sushi restaurants, she on longer only watch me eating sushi!”

We, Jason and the chefs

Touring Mi Ling's office

Asking Mi Ling questions

With Craig

Viewing Lee & Low books

Asking Craig questions

Answering questions

Reading Lee & Low books

Dr. Cheng presentating

Viewing bacteria under microscope

We and Dr. Cheng

 Observing sushi making

Tasting sushi 

Our order of sushi

I made a roll!

Ready to eat!