Pie-Biter

by Ruthanne Lum McCunn, Youshan Tang (Illustrator)

Based on real characters in the 1800s, Hoi, a young Chinese immigrant, was left to his own devices after the Continental Railroad was finished. With the help of Spanish Louis, he turned his creativity into success by way of good-old American pies. Initially published in 1983 as the Chinese American answer to Paul Bunyan, the story is now re-published in a new design and a tri-lingual format.

Genres: Asian Literature

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Ruthanne Lum McCunn is an American novelist and editor of Chinese and Scottish descent.

Reviews

[Emilia P]

While I was reading this book in the Children's Department at the library (with tri-lingual translations -- Chinese, Spanish, and English) about a trickster type character who made the most of his time working on the Western railroads, becoming a courier and then a pie-maker, and finally disappearing back to China, a Chinese family walked by and I nearly wept. I had only been home from China for 3 days and I was homesick. So this book was great in that respect, a neatly told and lovingly illustrated tale of the weirdness that is American folklore. I have a feeling it's a bit hard to find, but if you do find it, pick it up! It's cool.

[Christine]

The book may be based on actual historical figures but leaves out important historical context: the prohibition against women immigrating from China (making it unlikely his buddy could send for his wife and children) and the indentured servitude conditions that make me doubt railroad workers were free to go at the end of the railroad construction.