Coolies
by Yin, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet, New York: Philomel Books, 2001. (0-39923227-3).
Author website: http://www.soentpiet.com/yins_corner.html
Author website: http://www.soentpiet.com/yins_corner.html
Illustrator website: http://www.soentpiet.com/
Media: watercolor on watercolor paper
Annotation: Shek and his little brother Wang travel from a revolution scarred China to a burgeoning America and begin working on the western span of the Transcontinental Railroad.
Personal Reaction: The story exposes the harsh working and living conditions of the Chinese railroad workers in America and touches on their perseverance and determination to make a better living, even in the face of social prejudice and injustice. Students are introduced to non-European immigrant players who took stake in the formation of the current day United States. The building of the trans-continental railroad introduces important lessons on the immigrant experience, unequal treatment by labor bosses to Irish and Chinese workers, and the struggle for fair labor practices. Soentpiet's art is wonderful, with expressive faces on each page that offer a powerful humanity that jumps out of each picture, while large scale background action gives the reader a great understanding of the tasks accomplished from railroad work in scorching desserts to freezing mountain blizzards. The book works as a tale of survival and of familial connection as well as a historical lesson on this important chapter of American history.
Annotation: Shek and his little brother Wang travel from a revolution scarred China to a burgeoning America and begin working on the western span of the Transcontinental Railroad.
Personal Reaction: The story exposes the harsh working and living conditions of the Chinese railroad workers in America and touches on their perseverance and determination to make a better living, even in the face of social prejudice and injustice. Students are introduced to non-European immigrant players who took stake in the formation of the current day United States. The building of the trans-continental railroad introduces important lessons on the immigrant experience, unequal treatment by labor bosses to Irish and Chinese workers, and the struggle for fair labor practices. Soentpiet's art is wonderful, with expressive faces on each page that offer a powerful humanity that jumps out of each picture, while large scale background action gives the reader a great understanding of the tasks accomplished from railroad work in scorching desserts to freezing mountain blizzards. The book works as a tale of survival and of familial connection as well as a historical lesson on this important chapter of American history.
Curricular Connection:
Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion; Transcontinental Railroad; the immigrant experience / Social Science, Grade 5: Students will analyze new waves of immigration to the U.S. and its effect on the cultural and physical landscape.
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