Kai’s Journey to
Gold Mountain: An Angel Island Story by Katrina Saltonstall Currier
Currier, K.S.
(2005). Kai’s Journey to Gold Mountain:
An Angel Island Story. Tiburon, CA: University of Washington Press.
Historical
Fiction; Multicultural/International Literature
This book is based on a the true story
of Albert “Kai” Wong’s journey to America. At the age of twelve, Kai made the
bravest trip any child could make, to be with his father. Kai travelled to
America from China with no relatives, just other passengers all hoping to have
the same results. He faced many challenges during his voyage, such as poor food
and an interrogation; however, he handled each circumstance considerable. He
kept in mind what his grandmother and father told him, “be a good boy” and
“don’t cause any trouble”. In the end, he was able to reunite with his father
in the “Gold Mountain”. Kai’s Journey to
Gold Mountain: An Angel Island Story has many aspects to it that could be
brought to the attention of the reader. White Americans were referred to as
“white devils” by the Chinese. It would be interesting to see how students
would react to this phrase, and see how others can have alternative
perspectives of different parts of the world. This book would be ideal to
connect to a social studies lesson about immigration that has the students
exploring the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This act was passed to keep the
Chinese from coming into the United States unless they were merchants,
scholars, or sons or daughters of current American residents. Students could
talk about the many hardships Chinese immigrants faced in order to be in America
with family members and start a new life.
No comments:
Post a Comment