Libi Kavanah

This book was assigned to my granddaughter who is 10 years old and in fifth grade. It was assigned without any class discussion, as a read-alone book. This book is inappropriate for that kind of lesson plan or lack thereof. The book takes place during the Vietnam war which was one of the most contentious wars the United States has ever had. It is not simply a story of racism immigration separation. Without the backdrop of the civil unrest within the United States related to the Vietnam war protest, the people leaving and moving to Canada who were subject to draft, the mandatory draft of young people to go and fight in a war that actually had no real reason other than capitalism,; it really is irresponsible to give this to young readers to read on their own. Additionally, there are some very outdated cultural practices that without further education, the young reader aka the fifth grader would not know that these practices are out of date and are no longer a part of the Vietnamese culture and especially not the Vietnamese American culture. One cultural practice that all Asians are trying to move away from especially Asian Americans is the elevation of the oldest son. In one of the very first poems in this book, this practice is brought up and without any explanation one would think that this is still the way that the Vietnamese and the Asians feel about the firstborn male. Again, if this book is to be used as a lesson plan it needs to be with a great deal of History a great deal of cultural understanding and into my mind it is not appropriate for a fifth or 6th grader.