(4) 4-6 Eleven-year-old Fiona Cheng, half Chinese American and half Scottish American, struggles with her grandparents' expectations of her and with her own confused feelings about her identity. In attempting to address all the issues that confront mixed-race kids, the novel ends up with some artificial-feeling characters and situations, but Namioka's protagonist and story are still engaging.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(4) YA Yanyan can only realize her dream of becoming a doctor by leaving her native China and attending school in New York. Historical background concerning China during the 1920s is awkwardly inserted, as is Yanyan's attraction to dashing Baoshu, but this first-person account nicely details her longing for home, the racism she encounters, and her struggles to keep up with her studies.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Aki Sogabe. In this story set in a Japanese fishing village, young Jiro is suddenly hungry all the time, and his family wonders what's gotten into him. Eventually, they learn that what's gotten into him, literally, is a monster: Jiro has inadvertently swallowed the Hunger Monster. The tale's comic drama is apparent in the close-up views of characters' tragic expressions, exaggerated like those of traditional kabuki actors.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2001

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Kees de Kiefte. In this fourth story about the Yang family, Third Sister tells about Eldest Brother and his money troubles when his violin needs to be replaced. The struggles of this recent immigrant family seem more forced than in the previous books, but the story moves along at a fast clip, with humor and some suspense as the children help their brother.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) YA In early twentieth-century China, Ailin's liberal father allows her to avoid the tradition of foot-binding, but a broken engagement makes her family fear for her future. Ailin's intelligence and hard work--and a lot of luck--lead her to a new life in America. The novel contains fascinating if intrusive historical detail, but the flat prose keeps Ailin at a distance from the reader.

Reviewer: Alvina Ling

(3) K-3 Illustrated by YongSheng Xuan. In a delightfully tongue-in-cheek spoof of spoiled boys, this story describes lazy Xiaolong, who grows so passive he doesn't even play. But when he thwarts a burglar in his family's house, he feels angry for the first time and it "changed his whole life." Told with an affectionate, teasing tone, the story captures the dynamics of the traditional Chinese family with wry humor. The illustrations are rich with details of Chinese village life.

Reviewer:

(4) 4-6 The third book about the Yang family deals again with their gradual adjustment to American culture. Yingtao and Yingmei concoct a plan to help their older sister develop American friendships by planting the idea that she has a secret admirer. This is awfully slight, but readers who have met the Yang children in the earlier, less-contrived books will enjoy following their adventures.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.