Going Home, Coming Home/Ve Nha, Tham Que Huong

This is a very interesting book about a girl named Ami Chi who takes a trip to Vietnam. She is American, but to her parents Vietnam is their home. It teaches children about the war and the hardships of real life problems such as fleeing the country because of War. It is also a bilingual book which is written in both English and Vietnamese. She learns about Vietnam and how different it is than America. At first she feels unsettled but then learns to like Vietnam and that she is both American and Vietnamese. She becomes proud of who she is and embraces it.

SUMMARY:
A young girl travels from her home in America to her parents original home in Vietnam. She is scared and does not like the initial culture shock, however through a new friend who also speaks english she realizes that her home is not only America, but also where her heritage lies.
PERSONAL REACTION:
This book was not one of my favorites, although I felt like it had a good message. It didn't captivate my attention like other children's books seem to. If a child does have the unique opportunity to travel to their homeland this would be a good book to address the possibility of culture shock.
EXTENSION IDEAS:
This could support a lesson on heritage or ancestry. Students could try to discover where their family is originally from, or show more they could even do something as simple as making family trees. show less

Ami Chi is a Vietnamese girl who born and grow up in America. She used to the language, the environment and the comfortable setting in America. She does not wish to accompany her parents back to Vietnam because she feel strange and disconnect with it and besides, she does not speak Vietnamese. At first she feel bored and irritate with her relative for doing the things that she is not familiar with .However, after spend sometime in Vietnam, she make friend with Thao who able to speak English. Before she leave Vietnam to come back to America, Ami Chi learned to love her family in Vietnam and value their love for her.

Ami Chi is going to Vietnam with her parents. To Ami Chi’s parents, Vietnam is still home, but Ami Chi cannot understand how a place they have not been for so long could be home. She meets her grandmother and her uncle Binh. She feels that she would not enjoy her time in Vietnam, because it is much different than America. Uncle Binh buys a rooster, while Ami Chi tries to hold the rooster; it jumps out of her hands. She chases the rooster in Cho Lon market and meets a girl name Thao and her brother Tuan. After spending wonderful time with her new friend, Ami Chi realizes that she does not know how to find home. With the help of Tuan she finds her grandmother’s house, where her family await for her anxiously. Ami Chi learns that show more Vietnam is not like America, but she can still find herself at home in Vietnam. show less

This is the story about a character who at the age of five moved to America from Vietnam. She returns to Vietnam to learn about how life is there. While visiting she sees her family, and friends. She learns about the culture there.
This book has really good illustration that brings a realistic element to the story. The story is written in both English, and translated into Vietnamese.
For my extensions in the classroom, I would have students learn more about Vietnam, and in a journal I would have them write about what life would be like if they lived there. As another extension, I would have students try to speak, or (even find someone from Vietnam) to hear what the language sounds like.

A girl tells about her journey to Vietnam. She is afraid but meets some new people in the market and she enjoys it. She is sad they have to leave.

Primary
Pierce County