Apple Pie 4th of July
Bibliography
Wong, J.S. 2002. APPLE PIE 4TH OF JULY. Ill by Margaret Chodos-Irvinel. Orlando, Fl. Harcourt Books, Inc. ISBN 9780152025434
Plot Summary
The young girl and her family own a small food store in town. They are very excited because it's the 4th of July. As her parents prepare the Chinese food, she doesn’t understand why her parents are cooking chow mein. She is constantly saying, “No one wants Chinese food on the Fourth of July”. The girl is upset because although there is a parade outside nobody comes to the store. The girl starts to get impatient because she believes nobody wants to come to a Chinese store on the Fourth of July. She wants her parents to understand that having apple pie was more American than cooking Chinese food. However, after the parade was over, a lot of customers started coming in and buying their Chinese food. This made the girl very happy. At the end the family goes to the roof top to see the firework show and enjoy their Chinese food with the apple pie.
Critical Analysis (Including Cultural Markers)
APPLE PIE 4TH OF JULY is a great fictional story that includes literary elements like character development, setting (family store), conflict and resolution. Although the author does not include the character’s names, she builds a great story around the setting and Asian American cultural markers. For example, the girl seems upset that her parents are cooking Chinese food instead of celebrating the 4th of July the American way.
APPLE PIE 4TH OF JULY also includes several in text Chinese American cultural markers. The little girl specifically mentions “Chinese food” and the type of food that the parents are cooking “chow mein, sweet-and-sour pork, egg rolls, noodles”. She also mentions “My parents do not understand all American things. They were not born here”, which is why she feels frustrated that they don’t celebrate the holiday the American way.
Margaret Chodos-Irvine is the illustrator for the story and she is able to use Chinese American cultural markers in her illustrations. It is important to mention that the characters are wearing modern clothing, so the reader can conclude that the story takes place in modern times. The reader can also conclude that the little girl is proud of being able to celebrate the 4th of July, because she is wearing the colors usually worn during that holiday (red, white and blue).
The facial features and skin tone of the characters is another Asian cultural marker. The illustrator uses a lighter brown color for the main characters, but uses a lighter tone for the customers coming to the store. At the end of the story she included a page with illustrations of several children from different cultures happily celebrating the 4th of July. This is important because the reader can tell that all cultures are able to celebrate an American holiday together.
The author and illustrator are able to provide the readers with an insider’s perspective of the Chinese American culture living and celebrating an American holiday.
Review Excerpts
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
Charlotte Zolotow Award
Kirkus Review: All at once, cultural boundaries don’t seem quite as defined. (Picture book. 3-7)
Connections
This Next New Year by Janet S. Wong
Teachers and librarians are able to use this book to teach themes using a graphic organizer.
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