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Little White Duck
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A young girl describes her experiences growing up in China, beginning with the death of Chairman Mao in 1976.
"Eight short stories -- based on the author's own life -- give readers a unique look at what it was like to grow up in China during this important time in history."--Jacket.
Introduction: Ni hao! -- Wuhan, China -- A sad, sad day -- The four pests -- "Don't waste your food -- children are starving in China" -- March 5 is Lei Feng Day -- Happy new year! : the story of Nian the monster -- My new year feast -- Little white duck
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blue_buffalo_270 thinks this title is suitable for 4 years and over
sential thinks this title is suitable for 9 years and over
ELIZABETH RAMSEY BIRD thinks this title is suitable for 9 years and over
Summary
Add a SummaryTold in eight short stories, the book follows Da Qin the middle class daughter of two parents, living in the late 1970s/early 80s. Through her eyes we see a number of small stories about growing up in a post-Mao China. There’s the tale of how she and her younger sister attempted to emulate their nation’s heroes by helping some thirsty chicks (to an unfortunate end, I’m afraid), or the one about having to bring in rat tails to prove she was great at pest control. There’s the story of how Mao’s death affected the nation, and useful facts about China during this era. Most impressive is the titular story about Da Qin and what happened to the white velvet duck on her jacket when she and her father visited the village where he was born. Honest, sometimes funny, and unusually touching, this glimpse into another life in another world rings distinctly true.
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Add a CommentI was hoping for something a bit longer and with some higher stakes, but I still enjoyed this one. The artwork is terrific -- the illustrator does a really good job at finding a style appropriate for depicting ancient and almost-modern China. There's an Austin connection -- the author and illustrator (who are married) met in Austin. It turns out she married a rather handsome guy -- lucky lady!
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this graphic novel. There is a variety of styles presented through the book, but the same story line. As the story goes along, we begin to form the experiences of the main character and how fortunate she is with her childhood because her parents have worked so hard to give her what they could. By the end of the story she is starting to form a well rounded character; especially when she see first hand how other children her age live.
The wonderful thing about kids and comics is that some readers will pick up anything, just so long as there are panels and speech balloons to be had. In other cases you have kids that like comics but aren’t big fiction and fantasy readers. For them we hand over this book. Perhaps the strongest graphic novels for kids of the year and undoubtedly unique, this is one way of teaching world history through a lens that cannot be matched. Thoroughly and entirely remarkable.