American Born Chinese by Gene Yang
Three Alternating Stories:
1. Monkey King, a hero of Chinese folk tales
2. Jin Wang, an Asian-American boy who attends an all-white school
3. Chin-Kee, an embodiment of all negative Chinese Stereotypes
American Born Chinese
First graphic novel to win the Printz Award
Finalist for the National Book Award
American Born Chineseby Gene Luen Yang
• Have you ever felt like you didn’t fit in?
• Have you ever wished you were more like someone else?
• The three characters and stories in American Born Chinese are woven to tell a story that not only explores cultural stereotypes and race they also explore and challenge our own ideas about our own identity and self-acceptance.
What is it like to move to a new place and try to fit in?
What if that place was another country or a place where people thought you were “different” or “weird”? How would that make you feel?
3 Stories
“All Jin Wang wants is to fit in…”
“Born to rule over all the monkeys in the world, the story of the Monkey King…”
“Chin-Kee is the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype…”
ABC
Jin-Wang
p. 30
Understanding Why Jin Felt Alienated at School “Anti-Chinese Agitation” http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/collections/chinese/history4.html
Monkey King Legend
“I've been a fan of the Monkey King since I was a wee lad, listening to my mother tell me his stories at bedtime. Monkey Kingdom is an homage to my favorite fictional character.” Gene YangRead about the Monkey Kingdom: http://www.humblecomics.com/monkey/
•“The Story of Monkey King,” Chinese Legends, http://www.wku.edu/~yuanh/China/tales/monkey.html
“I've been a fan of the Monkey King since I was a wee lad, listening to my mother tell me his stories at bedtime. Monkey Kingdom is an homage to my favorite fictional character.” Gene YangRead about the Monkey Kingdom: http://www.humblecomics.com/monkey/
•“The Story of Monkey King,” Chinese Legends, http://www.wku.edu/~yuanh/China/tales/monkey.html
Monkey stuff is all over the Net. You just gotta know where to look.
China On Site's Journey to the West Galleryhttp://www.china-on-site.com/literatu/classic/west/This site pairs a summary of Journey to the West with incredible Chinese paintings.
The Monkey King's Entry in the International Catalogue of Superheroeshttp://www.internationalhero.co.uk/m/monkey.htmNice to see the Monkey King get some nice props on this site, which mostly focuses on American and British comic book heroes.
Monkey - Great Sage equal of Heaven (Monkey Magic!)http://www.greatsage.netHere's a great fan site that focuses on the classic TV show. It's got summaries of every episode of both series. Very detailed.
http://www.humblecomics.com/monkey/mkchar.html
Chin-Kee
Does acknowledging a stereotype perpetuate it?
Read Gene Yang’s response:http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2007/05/gene_yang_on_st.html
Does acknowledging a stereotype perpetuate it?
Read Gene Yang’s response:http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2007/05/gene_yang_on_st.html
Bibliography
• First Second - Creators - Gene Yang Blog, http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/authors/geneYangBlogMain.html
• Humble Comics, Gene Yang’s Website: http://www.geneyang.com/
• Interview: Sire, Hillary, Community Relations Manager, Barnes & Noble. Telephone Interview. January 2008.
• UXL Graphic Novelists. Tom Pendergast and Sara Pendergast. Sarah Hermsen, ed., 2007, Gale Virtual Reference Library.