Ties that Bind, Ties that Break by Lensey Namioka

Ailin lives in China. The year is 1911. She is part of a large extended family who still follow old customs. At a very young age she is betrothed to a boy in her neighborhood. She is just four years old and the boy is eight. The other tradition is foot binding. Hanwie's family (her betrothed) cannot accept Ailin if her feet are not bound but Ailin's father is progressive in his thinking, and he agrees her feet do not need to suffer this hideously painful process. He also agrees that his daughter can go to school even though girls do not usually receive education beyond the family. 

Her lack of footbinding means Hanwie is no longer engaged to Ailin but attending school means she is able to learn English. When her father sadly dies her bully uncle takes over control of the family. He has dreadul plans for Ailin so it is time for her to leave. She goes to work for a missionary family taking care of their two young children. By doing this she can no longer visit her family. After three years with the Warners she then travels to America so now her family ties are completely broken.  Go back to the title - ties that bind - foot binding and the binding to traditional customs. Ties that break - her cruel uncle and the way she is no longer fit for marriage with her big feet means she has to break away from her family and their traditional customs. Spoiler alert - there is a very happy ending to the story.

Wikipedia have a very detailed plot summary. 

The metaphor of things bound and unbound is a ribbon winding through this vivid narrative; the story moves swiftly, while Ailin is a brave and engaging heroine whose difficult choices reflect her time and her gender. Kirkus

Namioka weaves in just enough political history to help readers understand the turbulent climate, and her writing is so atmospheric and closely informed that it appears to offer an insider's perspective on a vanished way of life. Narrated by Ailin in flashback, this colorful novel has the force and intensity of a memoir. Publisher's Weekly

I picked this slim book up on a sale table in a large city bookstore. I love to look at price stickers on books like this because you can see how long a particular book has languished on the shop shelves. This book has been waiting since June 2017 for a new owner. Why? The cover is appealing to my eye. I think perhaps this book was placed in the wrong section. First off it has the feel of a biography and secondly, even though it only has 150 pages this book is not suitable for younger children. I would place it in the Young Adult section and recommend it for readers aged 13+. Please note there is a mention of suicide in the narrative. This book was published in 2003 but it is still available. 

Listen to an audio sample. 

Here is an alternate cover:

Companion book:

Stay for Dinner by Sandhya Parappukkaran illustrated by Michelle Pereira

 

"I love dinner time with my family, especially when friends are invited."

On special days Reshma eat sadhya, a traditional multi-course vegetarian meal served on banana leaves. This is very different from the meals she shares in the homes of her friends - Charlotte's mum serves roast chicken, carrots, peas, and pumpkin and the family use knives and forks to eat their meal.

"I wonder why we don't use cutlery. Papa always says the food tastes better when we eat it with our hands."

At Phoebe's place the family eat noodles, and dumplings using chop sticks. And the next day at Leo's Reshma joins them for spaghetti and meatballs - twirled around forks. 

Mama suggests they should thank everyone for taking care of Reshma. Everyone is invited for dinner. 

"Will my friends laugh? Eating with hands is not like ting-ting cutlery or click-clack chopsticks."

All of this reminded me of Amma's Sari and the anxiety of that little girl when she thought her mum looked different. Young Reshma is also worried about being embarrassed and she's worried about how the other parents will react to eating with their hands from banana leaves. Not to mention the burping!

Publisher blurb: Reshma loves dinnertime with her family. Her family eat with their hands – not just finger food type–eating, but hands-on squishy eating. When she’s invited to stay for dinner at her friends’ places, she finds out that they all eat in different ways. Some go ting ting with their cutlery, and others go click clack with their chopsticks. So what will her friends say when they see her family eat with their hands?

There is some delicious language in this book: keepie-uppies; jostle; ting-ting; prong; click clack; clickety-clack; swish swish; splatters; rice rains down; sambar splashes; pappadum smashes. 

Here are a set of teachers notes from the publisher. These notes also include a fabulous and extensive book list with terrific titles to source and share with your class. 

I thought of this one - long out of print but it might be in your school library:

Each page is a delight for ears and eyes, an invitation to explore and enjoy the richness and variety of the food eaten by these happy families ...  Storylinks

This story explores how kindness and being open to new ideas and possibilities, without judgement, can break down fears; empowering one to embrace new experiences, leading to an increased understanding and appreciation for diverse ways of being. Reading opens doors

Australia is a multicultural country and many schools or should I say the majority of schools in my state of New South Wales would have children from so many places around the world. Oddly though, my former school did not. There were only a handful of children across the school who came from UK, South Africa and one or two from USA - and that's out of a school population of 850+. My former school had a sister school relationship with another school in a different part of Sydney and that school had children from over 60 different countries. All of that means this book is an even more important one to share with students in any school - it will be affirming for many children and hopefully create awareness and empathy in others.  

This is the third book by Sandhya and Michelle.  I was on the CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) judging panel when their first book was submitted for the New Illustrator award. AND YES it was the winner! I am going to predict that Stay for Dinner will be on the CBCA Picture Book Notables list for 2024 and it has a good chance of reaching the shortlist too. (I am not a judge for this round). 

Read more about this book here. 

Amma's Sari

Luli and the Language of Tea by Andrea Wang illustrated by Hyewon Yum

A warming and gentle celebration of connection. Kirkus

This book begins on the first page (the one before the title page) where we see parents heading into an English as a Second Language class while the young children head into a room set up for free childcare. None of these children who come from around the world can speak English. 

Blurb: Luli removes her teapot, thermos and teacups from her bag and calls out ‘Chá!’ in her native Chinese. One by one, her classmates pipe up in recognition: in Russian, Hindi, Turkish, Persian, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese and Swahili. Tea is a tasty language they all know well, and it gives them a chance to share and enjoy each other’s company. When all the tea is gone and it’s time for dessert, Luli gets to use her favourite English word: cookie! After that, the playroom isn’t so quiet.

Luli is a problem solver. When she attended the first time and played alone, she had an idea to bring tea to class to share. That idea becomes the spark that brings the children together. Another bonus in this story is how the children take the initiative to share when Luli runs out of tea for herself. Worlds of words

Late the other night I watched a television program about the rituals and treats of afternoon tea. Part of the program explored Sketch near Bond Street.  The person in charge of the tea menu explained some 'mind boggling' things about the tea they serve. There are twenty-nine teas of offer and two can be matched to each course of the afternoon tea such as Vanilla black tea; Royal Flush; and an Oolong tea from Taiwan - one the lost expensive in the world.  Even the way he poured the tea was quite crazy. I just loved the serendipity of this and the way it links with this book. 

This would be the perfect book to share with a young class especially one with children who come from different places around the world. Luli and the Language of Tea would also be the most perfect book to use for Harmony Day which is celebrated in Australia on 21st March each year. 

The end papers in this book contain beautiful tea cups from around the world. You can see art from inside this book on Seven Impossible Things. Here is an interview with Andrea and Hyewon. I found a brief set of questions to use with this book on the US publisher web site. 

Image Source: Maria Marshall The Picture Book Buzz

Andrea Wang is the author of Watercress winner of the Caldecott Medal in 2022. Take a look at this post from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything where you find more books about the topic of tea. 

My own favourite book (for older students) on this topic is Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet which I do hope you can find in your school or local library.

Welcome to Planet Omar Book One - Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian

The real pleasure of this book is Omar - his imagination, the pleasure he finds in ordinary things, his infectious zest for life make this irresistible reading. The book also offers insight into the life of an ordinary Muslim family, something we don't often get ... LoveReading4Kids

My local bookseller Beachside Bookshop has kindly given me a big bag of books to read this month. Yesterday I picked up Welcome to Planet Omar. This is new book - I had an advanced reader copy. This book will be available this month. I read it all in one sitting and yes it it that good. I thought I might post some quotes from the author:

People like me simply weren’t in story books, when I was young.

Muslims may just be the most misunderstood group of people on the planet. I had to set it straight somewhat, which is why I chose to write a funny middle grade book about an ordinary Muslim family.

When I heard of the surge in faith-based bullying in schools, I knew I had to contribute something positive to the world that would challenge these stereotypes.

For those readers that don’t have Muslim friends, I thought it would be great to use humour as a tool to open a window into the lives of a Muslim family, to shed some light on things that they might have always wondered about, but were too polite to ask – for instance, why we fast or why we wear hijab.

In this book I learnt about Ramadan, the two Eid festivals and iftar in an easy to read and very funny story which at times was also surprisingly poignant. I totally agree with the endorsement on the back cover - this book is perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Diary of a Wimpy Kid but it is also so much more.

Here is an excellent review with more plot details. This book was originally published under the title The Muslims.  Take a look at the trailer to see the format of the text which uses different fonts and text features and lots of white space making this book very easy to read. I don't like to use the words "an important book" but I would like to put this book into the hands of some young readers and hear their thoughts especially children in schools where they have perhaps had no contact with children from other faiths.