Product Description

No one wants Chinese food on the Fourth of July, I say. We're in apple-pie America, and my parents are cooking chow mein! . . . They just don't get it. Americans do not eat Chinese food on the Fourth of July. Right?
Shocked that her parents are cooking Chinese food to sell in the family store on this all-American holiday, a feisty Chinese-American girl tries to tell her mother and father how things really are. But as the parade passes by and fireworks light the sky, she learns a lesson of her own.
This award-winning author-illustrator team returns with a lighthearted look at the very American experience of mixed cultures.

Product Details

• Published on: 2006-03-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Turtleback

From Publishers Weekly
The author and artist teamed for Buzz return for this carefully honed story about a girl's experience as a first-generation Chinese-American. Readers first encounter the unnamed narrator as she looks unhappily out the glass door of her parents' market, open for business even on the Fourth of July. Hearing the "boom, boom, boom" of the approaching parade, sniffing the apple pie baking in a neighbor's oven, she is distracted by the cooking smells from the store's kitchen, where her parents are preparing chow mein and sweet-and-sour pork. "No one wants Chinese food on the Fourth of July," she tries to explain, and her prediction seems right as the afternoon lengthily unfolds with almost no customers. "My parents do not understand all American things," she reminds herself, "They were not born here." But the evening brings a steady stream of patrons, and the holiday concludes with the family watching fireworks (invented by the Chinese) and eating what else? apple pie. The well-paced text heavily freighted at the beginning and swift by the end reflects the girl's changing emotions and moods. The art resembles cut-paper collage. Chodos-Irvine deploys sharply defined objects in a range of colors and patterns to construct harmonious, forthright compositions that will likely prove inviting to readers of many backgrounds. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2-This simply told story explores a child's fears about cultural differences and fitting in with understanding and affection. A Chinese-American girl helps her parents open their small neighborhood grocery store every day of the year. However, today is the Fourth of July and her parents just don't understand that customers won't be ordering chow mein and sweet-and-sour pork on this very American holiday. As she spends the day working in the store and watching the local parade, she can't shake her anxiety about her parents' na‹vet‚. When evening arrives along with hungry customers looking "for some Chinese food to go," she is surprised but obviously proud that her parents were right after all: Americans do eat Chinese food on the Fourth of July. Nighttime finds the family atop their roof enjoying fireworks and sharing a neighbor's apple pie. Done in a "variety of printmaking techniques," Chodos-Irvine's illustrations are cheerfully bright and crisp, capturing the spirit of the day as well as the changing emotions of the main character. This second successful collaboration by the creators of Buzz (Harcourt, 2000) is one you won't want to miss.
Alicia Eames, New York City Public Schools
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* PreS.-Gr. 2. "No one wants Chinese food on the Fourth of July," says a young Chinese American girl, sulking because she's stuck at her parents' food store, missing the parade and the holiday clamor. At first the day feels interminable: there are only a few customers, no one buys the homemade Chow Mein, and the girl thinks, "My parents do not understand all American things. They were not born here." But then, at dinnertime, hungry celebrators crowd in; they want Chinese food, and the line stretches down the block. Later, when the store is closed, the girl joins her parents on the roof for fireworks and a neighbor's apple pie. Wong's message is clear; Chinese food is American. But this powerful, simple reminder is gracefully woven into an appealing story with believable characters and emotions, written in the girl's spare, lyrical voice. Chodos-Irvine, who also illustrated Wong's attractive Buzz (2000), captures the story's uncluttered, elemental qualities in opaque prints that resemble paper cutouts. Vibrant, colorful spreads keep the focus on the girl, using body language to accentuate first her discomfort and boredom, and then her pride as she hands out cartons of takeout. This excellent read-aloud will partner well with books that emphasize American patriotism, such as Lynne Cheney's America: A Patriotic Primer [BKL Je 1 & 15 02]. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

A fun (and tasty) multicultural story
"Apple Pie 4th of July" combines a story by Janet S. Wong with pictures by Margaret Chodos-Irvine. The story is narrated by an Asian-American girl whose family runs a Chinese restaurant. She is annoyed at her folks for keeping the store open on July 4th: "No one wants Chinese food on the Fourth of July, I say." But is she right or wrong? Read the book to find out!

The enjoyable story is perfectly complemented by Chodos-Irvine's colorful illustrations, which have an elegantly stylized quality to them. I especially liked the pictures of the family at work in the restaurant. "Apple Pie" is a wonderful story about entrepreneurship, and about how different cultural traditions contribute to the unique mix that is the United States.

Apple Pie + Egg Rolls = America
This story is told by an Asian-American girl whose family owns a Chinese food restaurant. The narrator is frustrated and discouraged by the separation of American culture and her own culture. ("No one wants Chinese food on the Fourth of July, I say.") However, as five o'clock arrives, so do a few surprises.

Wong's simple tale and Chodos-Irvine's striking illustrations combine to form an endearing story about how the combination of different cultures forms the true culture of America.

Reading Level: Grades 1-2

Apple Pie review
I found the book great at identifying the problems Asian Americans face growing up in the American culture.