Two Lands, One Heart: An American Boy's Journey to His Mother's Vietnam

Schmidt, Jeremy; Wood, Ted

ISBN 10: 0802783589 ISBN 13: 9780802783585

Publisher: Walker & Co, 1995

Synopsis

Text and photographs record the visit to Vietnam of American-born TJ and his Vietnamese mother, who came to America twenty years ago, and the emotions and cultural disparities involved.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-5?As a child, TJ's mother, her younger sister, and her brother escaped war-torn Vietnam and were raised by an American family in Colorado. Years later, Heather reestablished contact with her Vietnamese family. In 1994, she took her oldest son, seven-year-old TJ, home to Vietnam to meet his relatives. The resulting upbeat photo essay covers their stay in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), the two-day drive along the coast, and the visit to the family farm. Well-composed, informative, full-color photographs in a variety of attractive layouts capture such diverse scenes as bustling city life, picturesque fishing boats, and bucolic rice paddies. The book nicely contrasts American and Vietnamese life as seen through a boy's eyes. In a few instances, however, the photos do not match the text. There are awkward sentence breaks between pages and some misspellings (Ong, not nog, is Vietnamese for "grandfather"). Overall, though, this is a useful work, particularly in Vietnamese-American communities.?Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

Following the same format used in their In the Village of the Elephants, Schmidt and Wood combine simple, informative prose with action-filled photos to capture a true-life story. TJ and his mother travel from their home in Denver to Vietnam for a reunion-TJ's mother fled that country as a 10-year-old in 1975, as the war raged, and she is returning for the first time. Through TJ's eyes, the reader encounters the colorful outdoor markets of Saigon and the eerie starkness of the Cu Chi fighting tunnels, then shares TJ's first, emotional meeting with the grandparents his mother believed to be dead. The bulk of the book follows TJ's often funny adventures on the family farm as he tries his hand at plowing with oxen, sees his first silkworm, tastes traditional Vietnamese food, travels the river on a bamboo canoe and plays with his cousins. The writing is unexceptional, but the content is strong enough to compel the reader's attention. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Walker & Co
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0802783589
• ISBN 13: 9780802783585
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 44