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20th out of 38 books
—
57 voters
Apple Pie Fourth of July
Shocked that her parents are cooking Chinese food to sell in the family store on an all-American holiday, a feisty Chinese American girl tries to tell her mother and father how things really are. But as the parade passes by and fireworks light the sky, she learns a surprising lesson.
Paperback, 40 pages
Published
May 1st 2006
by Sandpiper
(first published 2002)
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Apple Pie Fourth of July is a captivating story of how different cultures celebrate holidays and how diverse America truly is. The book follows a young Chinese-American girl around her family's Chinese restaurant during the Fourth of July. The young girl is distraught in her parents' choice to still be open during the Fourth and repetitively states that no one eats Chinese food on the Fourth of July. The young girl pessimistically waits around all day only to be proved wrong when the restaura...more
Apple Pie 4th of July is one of those books that does well to remind us that America is a country of absolute diversity. It tells the tale of a young Chinese American girl and the frustration she experiences on the 4th of July holiday, which her family does not celebrate in the traditional way. The work takes us on the girl’s emotional journey from displeasure to astonishment to contentment, as she learns that there is no one way to be “American.”
The theme that “it is our differences that mak...more
The theme that “it is our differences that mak...more
“Apple Pie 4th of July” is a story about a Chinese girl who does not understand why her family store is open on the 4th of July. She feels that her parents should close the store and that no Americans will want to eat Chinese food on the 4th of July. She feels left out because she cannot take part in the festivities of the day. However, as the day goes on, she realizes that even though it is the fourth of July, their store will still have many customers. The illustrations of the book are very br...more
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A young Chinese-American girl laments the fact that her family’s combination convenience store and Chinese food restaurant is open every day except for Christmas day. Now it is the fourth of July and the nameless girl can hear the commotion of the parade on the street; yet, her family is cooking Chinese food.
Brought up in America, she firmly believes that Chinese food is just not the kind of food one eats on Independence Day. Her family’s focus on tradition is irritating her on this patriotic da...more
Brought up in America, she firmly believes that Chinese food is just not the kind of food one eats on Independence Day. Her family’s focus on tradition is irritating her on this patriotic da...more
Apple Pie 4th of July is a charming book about a Chinese-American, little girl. Her parents own a small neighborhood store that sells Chinese food. For more than over half of the book, the young girl struggles internally about why her parents have opened the store on the day of an American holiday. Throughout the book the young girl often tells herself comments like, “My parents do not understand all American things. They were not born here.” Even though customers do not come into the store to b...more
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Winner of Asian Pacific American Award for Literature.
Grade Range K-2
This simply told story written in a poetic style, explores a child's fears about cultural differences and fitting in with understanding and affection. A Chinese-American girl helps her parents open their small neighborhood grocery store every day of the year. However, today is the Fourth of July and her parents just don't understand that customers won't be ordering chow mein and sweet-and-sour pork on this very American holida...more
Grade Range K-2
This simply told story written in a poetic style, explores a child's fears about cultural differences and fitting in with understanding and affection. A Chinese-American girl helps her parents open their small neighborhood grocery store every day of the year. However, today is the Fourth of July and her parents just don't understand that customers won't be ordering chow mein and sweet-and-sour pork on this very American holida...more
This is a good book whose essential message is that Chinese food is as American as apple pie. That everyone who lives in America regardless of their ancestry all share in being an American and what that means. That everyone contributes to the making of American culture for example that the fireworks used in the celebration were invented in China.
However the writer makes a couple of errors. First she claims that Chinese restaurants close only on Christmas. In my experience no self respecting Chi...more
However the writer makes a couple of errors. First she claims that Chinese restaurants close only on Christmas. In my experience no self respecting Chi...more
As a young girl reluctantly works in her family's Chinese market on July 4th, she moans that no one will want Chinese food on this American holiday. Her parents just don't understand that on this day, apple pie reigns and everybody is out enjoying the parades. The young girl, however, is proven wrong when customers start pouring in around dinnertime.
The young narrator thinks she understands American culture better than her parents since she was "born here." Turns out, her parents know more than...more
The young narrator thinks she understands American culture better than her parents since she was "born here." Turns out, her parents know more than...more
Grades 2-6
A girl is disgusted with her parents’ insistence to keep their Chinese restaurant open on the Fourth of July; Americans don’t want Chinese food on the Fourth of July, she thinks. Just before the fireworks, she is in for a surprise when people pile in. This short book convincingly captures the blasé self-consciousness of some children while subtly presenting what it means to be American. Margaret Chodos-Irvine’s prints are pared down and graphic, filled with patriotic anaphora and symbo...more
A girl is disgusted with her parents’ insistence to keep their Chinese restaurant open on the Fourth of July; Americans don’t want Chinese food on the Fourth of July, she thinks. Just before the fireworks, she is in for a surprise when people pile in. This short book convincingly captures the blasé self-consciousness of some children while subtly presenting what it means to be American. Margaret Chodos-Irvine’s prints are pared down and graphic, filled with patriotic anaphora and symbo...more
Published: 2006, Harcourt, Inc.
Age: 5-7
This story is told from a little girl who is first generation Chinese-American. She helps in her parents restaurant/store on 4th of July as they make all kinds of Chinese food. She says that her parents were not born here so they don't understand that Americans do not eat Chinese food on 4th of July. She seems bored as the day goes by and only a few customers come in for soda and chips. She watches as the parade goes by and then towards the evening people s...more
Age: 5-7
This story is told from a little girl who is first generation Chinese-American. She helps in her parents restaurant/store on 4th of July as they make all kinds of Chinese food. She says that her parents were not born here so they don't understand that Americans do not eat Chinese food on 4th of July. She seems bored as the day goes by and only a few customers come in for soda and chips. She watches as the parade goes by and then towards the evening people s...more
The book is about a young chinese american girl who is sulking in her parents food store and would rather be out watching the parade and fireworks on the fourth of July. She believes that her parents don't understand that Americans do not eat chinese food on the fourth of July. She believes her parents don't understand because they were not born in America. The young girl would rather be eating apple pie instead of chinese food. Then 5'oclock rolls around and she realizes more and more people ar...more
It’s 4th of July and a young Chinese-American girl is annoyed with her parents for keeping their grocery store/Chinese restaurant open. She knows there are many things her immigrant parents don’t understand, but despite her repeated protests they refuse to believe that people don't want to eat Chinese food on the 4th of July; they want apple pie. As the day passes it seems the girl is correct, “One o’clock, and they buy ice cream. Two o’clock. The egg rolls are getting hard.” But at five o’clock...more
Summary:
Apple Pie 4th of July, which is appropriate for 3rd grade readers and above, tells the story of a young Chinese American girl who's family owns a small grocery store/Chinese restaurant in an urban area. It is the 4th of July and all other businesses are closed for the holiday, except her family's store. The young girl expresses her frustrations as customers come in to buy "American" things: pop and potato chips, ice cream, ice and matches...but no one buys her family's homemade Chinese...more
Apple Pie 4th of July, which is appropriate for 3rd grade readers and above, tells the story of a young Chinese American girl who's family owns a small grocery store/Chinese restaurant in an urban area. It is the 4th of July and all other businesses are closed for the holiday, except her family's store. The young girl expresses her frustrations as customers come in to buy "American" things: pop and potato chips, ice cream, ice and matches...but no one buys her family's homemade Chinese...more
A young Asian girl is working at her parents' Chinese market on the Fourth of July, but no one wants to come in and buy Chinese food on the American holiday. The girl gets frustrated with her parents for not realizing this. She feels disconnected from her family because they do not understand her and even says, "I cannot expect them to know Americans do not eat Chinese food on the Fourth of July." After a couple hours, a few customers start coming to the store, but they buy ice, soda and chips a...more
I found this book while searching for books to read to the students before our neighborhood trip to Chinatown. It's a great example of children living between cultures. Even though it's a Chinese girl, my students could connect to the feelings she's having. It may take some scaffolding to get students to see the connections but then it could be very powerful. I'll definitely use this before our trip. Each of our neighborhood trips involves looking at many aspects of the culture. The illustration...more
I really enjoyed this story because it contains a wonderful lesson for children who find themselves struggling to fit in to the "American" culture. In the story a little girl is embarrassed that her parents continue to cook Chinese food on an American Holiday. She is convinced that no one will want to buy their food. However, by the end of the night, people start trickling in to purchase Chinese food. This story shows children that every race adds to the American culture. There are no rules of r...more
Apple Pie 4th of July is about a Chinese-American girl who tries to help her parents understand the American way by explaining to them that, “No one wants Chinese food on the Fourth of July,” as she smells the apple pie baking in a neighbors oven. The girl then feels satisfied as patrons order from the restaurant and later on the family watches fireworks (which are Chinese) atop their roof, while sharing a neighbor’s apple pie! The illustrations capture the changing emotions of the main characte...more
This book depicts struggles of growing up with your family's culture in the United States. The little girl is almost embarassed by her parents neglect of all things American, especially on the 4th of July. Why they even have the audacity to cook chicken chow mein and sweet-and-sour pork. How could they, noone wants Chinese food onthe fourth of July. On the contrary, their little store actually sells out because many customers come in for take-out. There can, in fact, be a coexistance between tra...more
Jul 05, 2011
Dolly
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
parents reading with their children
This is a sweet and sour (groan, I know!) tale about a young girl who is sure that she knows more about being American than her parents do. After all, no one wants to eat Chinese food on such an all-American holiday, do they? We picked this book up at our local library from a display of books for Independence Day. We saved it just for tonight and it was a nice way to end our celebrations. After reading this story, Chinese food did sound awfully good, but unfortunately, we'd already eaten dinner....more
Rachel Lundin
Ed 257
9/13/12
Every American has their own traditions for the fourth of July. These traditions usually involve watching a fireworks show, or having a barbecue. In the realistic-fiction children's book, "Apple pie 4th of July," by Janet S. Wong, pictures by, Margaret Chodos-Irvine, A young Chinese-American girl finds her family's tradition dull. The story takes place in her mother and fathers family restaurant where she is spending her time helping them out. From the first sentence i...more
Ed 257
9/13/12
Every American has their own traditions for the fourth of July. These traditions usually involve watching a fireworks show, or having a barbecue. In the realistic-fiction children's book, "Apple pie 4th of July," by Janet S. Wong, pictures by, Margaret Chodos-Irvine, A young Chinese-American girl finds her family's tradition dull. The story takes place in her mother and fathers family restaurant where she is spending her time helping them out. From the first sentence i...more
This story is about a little girl whose parents own a convenience store that is open everyday of the year except Christmas! The little girl is sad as she hears the "Boom Boom," of the 4th of July parade go by the store. She keeps trying to tell her parents, who were not born in America, that no one is going to eat Chinese food on the 4th of July. She thinks everyone is going to be eating apple pie! Her parents make chicken chow mein and sweet-and-sour pork anyways. Will they have any customers?
A story about an American born Chinese girl who is convinced her parents don't understand Americans and that no one wants Chinese food on the 4th of July. She sits in her parents store as the parade and the day passes but soon gets a surprise. This story reminds me of working in a Japanese restaurant and thinking the same thing and getting the SAME surprise. Its a good story to remind us to be proud and to remember our parents do know some things;)
This book is about a young girl who just can't understand why her family isn't having the normal American 4th of July cuisine. She says no one want to eat Chinese food on the 4th of July, they want hamburgers and hot dogs. Then she realizes that it is okay to celebrate differently because everyone is different. This would be a great story to use to talk about how people celebrate different holidays depending on their beliefs at home.
This is an interesting story of how one girl struggles with being Chinese American, when her parents carry on the traditions of their culture and she wants to do what is “American.” In the end, when people do come in to eat the Chinese food on the Fourth of July, the book never addresses what the girl thinks of this. It moves from closing time to going to watch fireworks. Clever idea, but it could be extended a bit more.
This book is a great book to have in any classroom library. It teaches children to be proud of who they are and their family background. I think that children too often want to abandon their traditional customs in an attempt to "fit in: with mainstream culture. However, this book allows one to understand that it is okay to be yourself, and in fact, people will respect and notice your unique ways.
This is a good book for children within grades 2-6. The author’s essential message is that Chinese food is as American as apple pie. Wong also makes it clear that everyone who lives in America regardless of their ancestry all share in being an American and what that means. This is definitely a good read for teachers working on a lesson plan regarding contemporary realistic fiction.
This is a book about a young Asian girl who's stuck at her parent's restaurant on the 4th of July. She is upset because there is a parade going on in the city and she can't go. She soon sees her day is turned around. This would be a good way of talking about different traditions and different ways people celebrate different occasions.
I really enjoyed this book because it had good illustrations and it was an easy to read poetic book. The little girl in the book sounded mad that her parents did not understand american culture. I related a lot to the little girl because my parents were also not born in america. over all it was a great book.
This humorous story is about a little girl who family owns a Chinese Restaurant. It is the Fourth of July and she believes that no Americans will eat chinese food on the Fourth of July. She tries to explain this to her parents, because she thinks that they don't understand American traditions. So she waits and waits and waits....... until.
Shocked that her parents are cooking Chinese food to sell in the family store on an all-American holiday, a feisty Chinese American girl tries to tell her mother and father how things really are. But as the parade passes by and fireworks light the sky, she learns a surprising lesson. (Goodreads Review)
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Janet S. Wong was born in Los Angeles, and grew up in Southern and Northern California. As part of her undergraduate program at UCLA, she spent her junior year in France, studying art history at the Université de Bordeaux. When she returned from France, Janet founded the UCLA Immigrant Children's Art Project, a program focused on teaching refugee children to express themselves through art.
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