Angela Pham Krans

Mai's Papa always makes her laugh by playing crocodile chomp. But one day, Papa has to go away, and later, Mama and Mai go after him. They walk, wade through a river, and take a boat, from which they're rescued by a ship, and then to a new land. From there, Mama and Mai go to America, where they are reunited with Papa, who looks unfamiliar with a new mustache - but still plays crocodile chomp to make Mai laugh.

Author's note, artist's note. Both left Vietnam as children.

Older early elementary to mid elementary. The book is inspired by the authors life, telling of a mom and daughter following her father to America from Vietnam after the Civil War. It could be used in the classroom as a way to educate on lives of refugees and how war can affect families. Nothing problematic, but a useful text.

This book is for grades 2-3.

This book is about a Vietnamese girl named Mai as her father leaves Vietnam to find her and her mother a new home. Mai does not know where her father went or why, but eventually, her and her mother travel to America to be reunited with her father. This journey is long and strenuous, but in the end, the family reunites as they settle in their new home.

This book could be implemented in my classroom as I teach my students about the Vietnam War and how many show more Vietnamese people fled their home country to America. I could them explain to them how boats were used to travel in order to escape the political and economic hardships people faced in Vietnam, which I could then connect to this book in a way that students can learn about someone's perspective of this journey. show less

This book tells a story about a girl and her mother, from an asian country, making their way to the United States to find the little girls Papa, and the woman's husband. It mentions the difficulties along the way, but eventually highlights the exciting and wholesome moment when they finally meet each other again in the United States.
I think this book would fit well in a classroom setting, but might raise a few questions regarding the historical event that was occurring during this time show more period. However, this does speak to a cultural event occurring within the asian culture, which I think is important to share with others of different cultures. show less