"Both my parents worked multiple jobs to survive and support us in a country whose people did not understand why we were here at best, and blamed us for the aftermath of the war at worst. My father would sometime take us fishing with him, before the sun came up - for food, not for sport." Bao Phi
A Different Pond won a Caldecott Honour in 2018. I would share this book with older readers aged 10+.
Bookseller blurb: Acclaimed poet Bao Phi delivers a powerful, honest glimpse into a relationship between father and son and between cultures, old and new. A Different Pond is an unforgettable story about a simple event--a long-ago fishing trip. As a young boy, Bao Phi awoke early, hours before his father's long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. A successful catch meant a fed family. Between hope-filled casts, Bao's father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam. The New York Times has said that Bao Phi's poetry "rhymes with the truth." Together with graphic novelist Thi Bui's striking, evocative art, Phi's expertly crafted prose reflects an immigrant family making its way in a new home while honoring its bonds to the past.
Spare and simple, a must-read for our times. Kirkus Star review
Can I recommend you read this book more than once. There are plot fragments in so many of the lines of text - small statements that belies huge issues or past stories.
Read these and in brackets I have added my interpretation:
"In the kitchen the bare bulb ... " (The family cannot afford to add decorations such as light covers and it may be that they are renting this very basic home).
"to me his English sounds like gentle rain". (This boy is proud of his dad and he intuitively understands his dad has had to learn a new language in this strange land. It is fantastic that this young boy can ignore the awful comments by the school bullies).
"I got a second job". (Dad is hard working and really wants to provide for his family. He is willing to work long hours and on weekends so their fishing expedition has to happen well before dawn. We also read that mum has to work all day on Saturday too).
"I feel the callouses on his hand when he squeezes mine". (Dad is hard worker - and his work is a form on manual labour. I wonder if, given different opportunities he might have been able to complete higher levels of education and perhaps have a 'better' or more highly paid job).
"One day, his brother didn't come home". (This is a fragment about the events of the Vietnam war and the devastating impact of this on his father).
"I wonder what the trees look like at that other pond in the country my dad comes from". (This sums up the power of this story).
Companion books:
