Grandfather's Journey
Grandfather's Journey is a children’s picture book by Allen Say. The story is told from the perspective of Say, who narrates his grandfather’s immigration between Japan and the United States.[1] Say’s grandfather subsequently moves back to Japan.[2] Released by Houghton Mifflin, the book was positively received by critics and reviewers, and Say received the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1994.[3][4][2][5][6] Grandfather’s Journey is often cited as a culturally significant work in its AAPI representation. In 2008, Weston Woods Studios, Inc. made a film based on the book, narrated by B. D. Wong.
Plot
A young man from Japan, during the Meiji era, crosses the Pacific Ocean and explores the United States. He finds that of all the places he has seen, he likes coastal California best because of the beautiful Sierra Mountains. Eventually, he returns home to Japan and marries his childhood sweetheart.
The young man takes his new bride across the sea and they settle in California, where they have a daughter. As he watches his daughter grow up, the man is filled with nostalgia for his own childhood. He eventually decides to take his family back to Japan when his daughter is nearly grown up.
The man is happy to see his old friends again, but moves from the village where he grew up to a city nearby in order to satisfy his daughter, who has spent her entire life living in a city. She eventually marries and has a son, who is the narrator of the story. The man, now the titular grandfather of the story, finds that once again he misses California.
He plans a trip to see his adopted country again with his grandson, but never gets a chance to see California again as a result of World War II. His grandson eventually grows up and follows the same journey as his grandfather, understanding his grandfather's feelings towards two places he called home.
Reception
The book was largely met with high praise for both its written content and for its illustrations’ abilities to elicit the emotions and realities of the immigrant life of an Asian American.[3][4][2][5] Critics commended the book’s text, citing it as "direct, lyrical narrative" and its approachability given its "simple text" for a younger audience.[2][4]
The illustrations of Grandfather’s Journey were equally applauded, with Publishers Weekly citing Say’s paintings and "sepia tones" as reminiscent of a "carefully preserved family album."[3] In a 1994 interview, Say is quoted as having said that he sought to create this effect.[7] Another critic comments that Say’s portraiture in the book invites readers to create their own interpretations and possibilities of the story behind the paintings.[8] The book received a Caldecott Award in 1994 as one of Say’s "most well-received and popular books."[6][1]
Cultural impact and relevance
Many scholars and reviewers cite Grandfather’s Journey’s inclusivity and encompassing of the immigrant experience.[2][3] The book is also noted for its focus on racial diversity and "universally shared emotions."[2][3] Furthermore, in the context of children’s literature, Say’s work is one of a handful of books that is by someone whom scholars Noreen Rodriguez and Esther Kim dub "cultural insiders."[9] Additionally, works such as Grandfather’s Journey address the Asian and Asian American experience amidst a genre widely known to "reinforce harmful and inaccurate stereotypes" and tropes such as the "model minority" or the notion that Asian American immigrants struggle to assimilate.[9] Others agree that Asian American children’s literature is often inaccurate in its telling of the Asian or Asian American story, with one study citing that in 1976, only 66 out of approximately 3,000 children’s books published that year featured a "central character" that "were Asian American."[10] Yet, Grandfather’s Journey is cited as a work amidst this genre that provides an "authentic portrayal…about the AAPI experience."[11]
However, a more recent study found that there has been an "improvement" in both the number of children’s books about Asian American communities, as well as "the diversity of Asian American representations" between 2007 and 2017.[9] Scholars also note different avenues to continue this trend, including the support of increased inclusion and recognition of more Asian and Asian American children’s books amongst teachers and librarians.[9][10] For example, children’s literature reviewer and resource provider Gathering Books includes Grandfather’s Journey in their "Festival of Asian Literature and the Immigrant Experience" recommendations.[8]
References
- ^ a b "Allen Say 1937– | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
- ^ a b c d e f Vasilakis, Nancy (1993). "Grandfather's Journey". Horn Book Magazine. 69 (5): 590.
- ^ a b c d e "Grandfather's Journey". Publishers Weekly. 25 October 1993. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ a b c "GRANDFATHER'S JOURNEY". Kirkus Reviews.
- ^ a b "Allen Say". Society of Illustrators. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
- ^ a b Sadowski, Michael J. (1994). "Lois Lowry and Allen Say Take Newbury, Caldecott Medals". School Library Journal. 40 (3): 123.
- ^ Peck, Jackie; Hendershot, Judy; Say, Allen (1994). "An Interview with Allen Say, 1994 Caldecott Award Winner". The Reading Teacher. 48 (4): 304–306. JSTOR 20201426.
- ^ a b Garces-Bacsal, Myra (2012-06-11). "Nonfiction Monday: Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say". Gathering Books. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
- ^ a b c d Rodriguez, Noreen Naseem; Kim, Esther June (2018). "In Search of Mirrors: An Asian Critical Race Theory Content Analysis of Asian American Picturebooks from 2007 to 2017" (PDF). Journal of Children's Literature. 44 (2): 17–30. ProQuest 2132692292.
- ^ a b Aoki, Elaine M. (1981). "'Are You Chinese? Are You Japanese? Or Are You Just a Mixed-up Kid?' Using Asian American Children's Literature". The Reading Teacher. 34 (4): 382–385. JSTOR 20195253.
- ^ Pang, Valerie Ooka (20 June 2012). "Asian and Pacific Islanders as Americans: The Legacy of AAPI Children's Literature". International Examiner. Seattle. p. 3. ProQuest 1037993345.
Awards | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Caldecott Medal recipient 1994 | Succeeded by Smoky Night |
- v
- t
- e
- Animals of the Bible (1938)
- Mei Li (1939)
- Abraham Lincoln (1940)
- They Were Strong and Good (1941)
- Make Way for Ducklings (1942)
- The Little House (1943)
- Many Moons (1944)
- Prayer for a Child (1945)
- The Rooster Crows (1946)
- The Little Island (1947)
- White Snow, Bright Snow (1948)
- The Big Snow (1949)
- Song of the Swallows (1950)
- The Egg Tree (1951)
- Finders Keepers (1952)
- The Biggest Bear (1953)
- Madeline's Rescue (1954)
- Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper (1955)
- Frog Went A-Courtin' (1956)
- A Tree Is Nice (1957)
- Time of Wonder (1958)
- Chanticleer and the Fox (1959)
- Nine Days to Christmas (1960)
- Baboushka and the Three Kings (1961)
- Once a Mouse (1962)
- The Snowy Day (1963)
- Where the Wild Things Are (1964)
- May I Bring a Friend? (1965)
- Always Room for One More (1966)
- Sam, Bangs & Moonshine (1967)
- Drummer Hoff (1968)
- The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (1969)
- Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1970)
- A Story, a Story (1971)
- One Fine Day (1972)
- The Funny Little Woman (1973)
- Duffy and the Devil (1974)
- Arrow to the Sun (1975)
- Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears (1976)
- Ashanti to Zulu (1977)
- Noah's Ark (1978)
- The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses (1979)
- Ox-Cart Man (1980)
- Fables (1981)
- Jumanji (1982)
- Shadow (1983)
- The Glorious Flight (1984)
- Saint George and the Dragon (1985)
- The Polar Express (1986)
- Hey, Al (1987)
- Owl Moon (1988)
- Song and Dance Man (1989)
- Lon Po Po (1990)
- Black and White (1991)
- Tuesday (1992)
- Mirette on the High Wire (1993)
- Grandfather's Journey (1994)
- Smoky Night (1995)
- Officer Buckle and Gloria (1996)
- Golem (1997)
- Rapunzel (1998)
- Snowflake Bentley (1999)
- Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (2000)
- So You Want to Be President? (2001)
- The Three Pigs (2002)
- My Friend Rabbit (2003)
- The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (2004)
- Kitten's First Full Moon (2005)
- The Hello, Goodbye Window (2006)
- Flotsam (2007)
- The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2008)
- The House in the Night (2009)
- The Lion & the Mouse (2010)
- A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2011)
- A Ball for Daisy (2012)
- This is Not My Hat (2013)
- Locomotive (2014)
- The Adventures of Beekle (2015)
- Finding Winnie (2016)
- Radiant Child (2017)
- Wolf in the Snow (2018)
- Hello Lighthouse (2019)
- The Undefeated (2020)
- We Are Water Protectors (2021)
- Watercress (2022)
- Hot Dog (2023)
- Big (2024)
![]() | This article about a picture book is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e