APPLE PIE 4TH OF JULY by Janet S. Wong ~ Culture 5

APPLE PIE 4TH OF JULY by Janet S. Wong

Author: Janet S. Wong

Title:  Apple Pie 4^th of July

Illustrator: Margaret Chodos-Irvine

Publisher:  Harcourt, Inc.

Publication Date: 2002

ISBN:  015202543X

Plot Summary

A Chinese American child fears that the food her parents are preparing to sell on the Fourth of July will not be eaten.

Critical Analysis

Oh, the disdain of a tween! The unnamed girl in Apple Pie 4^th of July oozes frustration over the way her parents insist on cooking Chinese food for their family market on a very all-American holiday: “Chow mein! Chinese food on the Fourth of July? No one wants Chinese food on the Fourth of July, I say” (Wong). The story continues with the tween girl’s frustration with the prepared Chinese food going stale and with customers coming in to purchase forgotten - but needed - 4^th of July items: ice cream, ice, matches, etc. After the 4^th of July parade, the young girl stands proudly behind the takeout counter as she helps her parents serve the Chinese food that she previously thought no one wanted.

Throughout the day, Father hints that there is something distinctively Chinese in 4^th of July festivities: “Fireworks are Chinese, Father says, and hands me a pan full of sweet-and-sour pork” (Wong). After a hard day’s work in the market, the Chinese-American family move to the roof of their building to watch those Chinese fireworks go off high above the skyline. Again, the young girl is proud of her Chinese heritage and accepts that she can enjoy an American holiday and her family’s culture.

According to the title page and the book jacket, illustrator Margaret Chodos-Irvine watched many parades to inspire her printmaking artwork in Apple Pie 4^th of July. Her bold colors on a white background make the details pop off the page. The three Asian Americans in the story – Mother, Father, and their daughter – are depicted with Asian facial features and hairstyles: narrow eyes and black hair. The setting of the story is in a modern city and the family owns a convenience market and Chinese takeout restaurant. At the end of the story, the reader learns the family lives above the market where they enjoy the 4^th of July fireworks from their rooftop. Chodos-Irvine’s fireworks will make readers ooh and ahh as if they were watching the fireworks live.

The book is a perfect melding of Asian and American cultures. Readers will realize there is so much Americans and Chinese have in common in the 4^th of July holiday. This is an excellent book to expose Asian American culture to young readers with its use of celebrations, foods, urban contexts, homes, hairstyles and facial features.

Reviews

• Booklist (2002): “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…”
• Children’s Literature (2002): “In a lyrical look at a young Chinese-American girl's 4th of July in her family's convenience store, Wong paints a unique picture of the evolving diversity in U.S. culture. On a day that celebrates the independence of our nation, we mostly see patriotic portrayals of our Federalist period when European Americans and European culture dominated our society. This book shows that this holiday can be celebrated in a diversity of ways, including a trip through a Chinese buffet after a parade.”
• Publishers Weekly (2002): “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.”

Awards

• 2001 Asian Pacific American Award for Literature, illustration winner
• 2003 Charlotte Zolotow Award, highly commended

Connections

• Since 4^th of July is a summer holiday, perhaps a school librarian can have a summer holiday unit in early May before school gets out for the summer. Other activities could include more about Memorial Day, Flag Day, Father’s Day, and some off-the-beaten-path August holidays like National Ice Cream Sandwich Day or Left Hander’s Day.
• Learn more about author Janet S. Wong at her website: janetwong.com
• Pair with Wong’s This Next New Year (ISBN 978-1937057251) as part of a unit that focuses on Chinese culture.
• Learn more about illustrator Margaret Chodos-Irvine at her website: http://chodos-irvine.com/

Bibliography

Chodos-Irvine, Margaret. 2002. Apple Pie 4^th of July by Janet S. Wong. New York: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 015202543X

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. November 12, 2017.

Wong, Janet S. Apple Pie 4^th of July. New York, NY: Harcourt, Inc., 2002. ISBN 015202543X