Grandfather Counts

November 1, 2000
K-Gr 3-Helen, the eldest of three children, relates what happens when her Chinese grandfather, Gong Gong, comes to America to live with them. He speaks no English, and the children speak no Chinese. Helen has had to give up her small bedroom, from which she could watch trains passing. One day, as she is sitting outside on a concrete wall watching a train go by, she sees Gong Gong at the bedroom window waving to the engineer. One evening, he joins her outside and begins counting the freight cars in his native language; Helen repeats the words, and then teaches him the English. More words are shared, and a special closeness develops between them. Helen's voice sounds authentic, as she describes the tensions and bonds in the family. Bold, impressionistic acrylic paintings with soft blues, greens, and yellows predominating sometimes cover whole spreads or pages, sometimes are framed in white with text above or below. The characters and translations are given for the Chinese words used in the text. An affecting and tender addition to multicultural and intergenerational literature.-Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VA

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2000
Ages 4-8. Helen is bothered by having to give up her room to Gong Gong, her Chinese grandfather, when he comes to live with the family. She's puzzled by his sitting and reading his Chinese newspapers. As she can no longer watch the trains from her bedroom window, she sits on the concrete wall in the backyard to count the cars and wave to the engineer. It's there one evening that Gong Gong joins her and teaches her to count the cars in Chinese. They sit together long after the engineer waves good-bye, counting in both Chinese and English. So begin their language lessons and a special relationship. Conveying nuggets of Chinese culture as well as bits of the language, Cheng's story hints honestly at the difficulties of resettling an aged, non-English-speaking relative, and in velvety colors, Zhang's acrylics paint the growing relationship with simple integrity. A brief glossary with pronunciation guides presents words in both Chinese and English.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2001
When Helen's Chinese grandfather comes to live with her family in the United States, the language barrier seems insurmountable until each finds pleasure in introducing the other to words in his or her native tongue. Although Helen's narration occasionally lapses into cliche, the book's theme of cultural assimilation is subtly rendered (her biracialness isn't stated outright), and the illustrations are fittingly textured and tender. Glos.

(Copyright 2001 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)