Thanks to Debbi Michiko Florence for highlighting this article. Pagoda Hill is about an Asian-American girl, my great great grandmother, but I’m always aware that my insight into her character doesn’t come from my own experience. I’m always looking for people more qualified than me to talk about Asian representation.
See the Real Neenah through her Life
Take a look at the real Neenah at ages 6, 18 and as an elderly lady. I think its fascinating that she looks most comfortable, by far, as an elderly lady! She was apparently very fond of that car which was the first one in Baldwinsville, NY.
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View from Pagoda Hill — Recommended by School Library Connection
Author Michaela Maccoll tells the tale of her great-great-grandmother Neenah’s harrowing journey as an immigrant in the 1870s. Readers are given a bird’s-eye view of the sheltered lives of Chinese upper-class women during this time period. Maccoll introduces Neenah as a 12-year-old who questions why she doesn’t have her feet bound like her mother and why she is viewed so differently from everyone else. Neenah’s parents fell in love in Shanghai and married at a time when interracial relationships were taboo. Perhaps seeking a better life for Neenah, her mother sends her to live in New York with her American father, whom she has never met. Maccoll does not mince words about the distrust and outright racism Neenah and other Chinese immigrants experienced in the United States. While it was interesting reading about Neenah’s life before immigrating to New York, there were many aspects of Chinese culture and customs that could have been clarified further. Even though there is an author’s note explaining some historical context and a list of resources to learn more, the inclusion of maps and a glossary mentioning Chinese customs would have been helpful. This text could be used in history lessons to support discussions about immigrant experiences in the late 1800s. Laura Dooley-Taylor, Librarian, Lake Zurich Middle School North, Hawthorn Woods , IL
Recommended
View from Pagoda Hill Launches Soon
I’ll be doing a virtual launch of View from Pagoda Hill at the Westport Library in April 2021. Details coming soon!
On this Day – Shirley Chisholm Makes her Bid for President
On this day in 1972, Shirley Chisholm becomes first African-American candidate for a major party’s nomination for President of the United States, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Last week we watched Vice President Kamala Harris take the oath. History takes too long — 49 years between Shirley Chisholm and Kamala Harris is ridiculous — but eventually I think we head in the right direction.
emily dickinson – redux
Please please check out this piece in the New Yorker: Emily Dickinson: Freelancer by Emma Brewer. It’s hysterical. Here’s a sample:
There’s a certain Slant of light,
Deadline Afternoons—
That exposes all the Dust
Just—let me get the broom—
In the Mood for some Louisa May?
Chronicle Books for Kids has chosen The Revelation of Louisa May as their ebook deal for August! I tell the story of all the trouble Louisa May Alcott can get into one summer when Marmie is away…
Kindle: https://amzn.to/2K2KCzQ
iBookstore: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-revelation-of-louisa-may/id918354587?mt=11&app=itunes1001lQT8
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Michaela_MacColl_The_Revelation_of_Louisa_May?id=lqSdBAAAQBAJ
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-revelation-of-louisa-may
Remembering Their Names
Of all the volunteer work I do, the most satisfying is what I do to help our local Westport Historical Society. For the past year, our exhibit has been called “Remembered: The African-American Experience” in Westport. Everyone I have brought to this exhibit says the same thing…. “We had slaves in Westport?” In fact we have the names or descriptions of 240 names in the late 18th – early 19th c. of persons who were enslaved right here.
First Names Only
The names are usually only first names. Amos. Dorcas. Ned. Phillip. Tom. Nancy. These were the most common. Some were heart-breakingly ironic – Prince or Fortune. Then the odd ones. Gin. Coffee. Or how about Wench? Or Negro child. Of the 240, about 20 were the names of persons who were freed. Another 25 are listed as the children of other slaves and therefore the property of their owners. Slavery wasn’t fully abolished in CT until 1848.
Two Daughters Named Eliza
Dred Scott sued for his freedom to protect his daughters. The case went to the Supreme Court. There he was told that he and his family, by virtue of being black, were not actually American and never could be. Therefore they had no standing to sue in court. When I wrote Freedom’s Promise about Dred Scott’s daughter Eliza I discovered that his daughters were both named Eliza. He and his wife, both slaves, did this deliberately to confuse their absentee owner about the ages of their children. As their daughter grew up, they were more valuable. Dred and Harriet hoped to fool their owner into thinking that the Elizas were too young to sell. Ironically the duplication of names was a defense.
Remember Their Names
Yesterday I spent several hours with our Executive Director, Ramin Ganeshram, arranging bricks for a permanent memorial to remember their names. It was a massive amount of work and the absolute least we could to make sure we never forget.
Pagoda Hill
I’ve been away for a long time because I’ve been under contract working on a book for Calkins Creek. It’s a family story about an ancestor of mine from Shanghai, China. She came to America as a little girl and lived in upstate New York. She was homesick and her father arranged for an artist to paint an enormous pagoda on the family barn.
I’ve discovered my ‘family story’ is actually one that resonates with the immigration debate today. Nina, my ancestor, came here just a few years before the United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. This is the only law that prohibited immigraition based solely on nationality. It was not repealed until 1943! Nina was OK because she was the daughter of an American and therefore American herself. But you have to wonder how she felt coming to a country where the dominant refrain was “Chinese Go Home.”
Here’s the barn and Nina!
TeenReads gives a Great Review for Secrets in the Snow
I’m blushing at this lovely review from TeenReads:
“MacColl presents a fascinating and engaging fictionalized account of Jane Austen’s youth….drawing upon her experience writing historical fiction to make Austen’s life come alive to her readers.”