Andrés Vera Martínez’s mash of comic and classical styles with brown-palette illustrations captures what it was like for his wife, Na Liu, to grow up in China in the 1970s and 1980s. Na Liu, who is called by her nickname Da Qin “Big Piano” in the novel, and her sister Xiao Qin “Little Piano” grew up during a transitional time when China was slowly opening up to the world both economically and culturally. Illustrations and words simply capture the reality of China following Chairman Mao’s death without being overly pedantic. These changes are shown in the eight short stories describing Da Qin’s childhood, life in post-Mao China era, and Chinese traditions and stories. A glossary of terms, a timeline, translations of Chinese characters, a map of China, and a note about the author and illustrator are included. ema |
Title: Little White Duck: A Childhood In China
Author: Na Liu
Illustrator: Andrés Vera Martínez
Publisher: Graphic Universe a division of Lerner Publishing Group
Copyright: 2012
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-7613-8115-0
Paperback pages: 108
Age range: 8 up
Genre: Graphic Novel, Biography
Book setting: China
Author’s ethnicity: Chinese
Author’s residence: United States
Illustrator’s ethnicity: American
Illustrator’s residence: United States
Awards: 2012 Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book, 2012 SLJ Best Children’s Books in Fiction, 2012 Horn Book Fanfare in Fiction, 2012 Cybils Award Finalist for Elementary/Middle-Grade Graphic Novels
Subjects: Biography, Childhood, China, Comics, Government, Graphic Novels, History, Language, Memoir, Mythology, World Politics |