Beyond the Moongate

February 15, 2013
Anecdotal paintings and reminiscences of two childhood years spent in China, by an artist now in her 90s. Following up Once Upon a Full Moon (2007), an account of her family's journey from Canada to Kwangtung province, Quan recalls 17 experiences or incidents during the stay. These include feasting on New Year's Day ("Mama steamed a whole chicken inside a winter melon and made sweet red and green bean paste..."), gathering to watch a teen relative take a bucket shower ("We all laughed with glee"), and welcoming both a new piglet and, later, a new baby brother. Opposite each memory, a full-page, loosely brushed watercolor in a naive style adds both cultural and comical notes with depictions of small, active or intent figures in village dress and settings. It's a sunny picture, but there are references to the real dangers of pirates and brigands, as well as a comment about the author's beloved Popo (grandmother) walking to church on bound feet. These, along with a final parting made particularly poignant since the baby, being foreign-born, had to be left in China for several years, keep it from becoming a sugary nostalgiafest. A fragmentary memoir, but warm, humorous and engaging overall. (afterword, with photo of Popo) (Illustrated memoir. 6-9)

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2013

Gr 2-4-A sequel to Once Upon a Full Moon (Tundra, 2007), this collection of memories recalls the two years Quan's Chinese-Canadian family spent living with her grandmother in China. Each memory is told on a spread, with a few paragraphs of text and a full-page watercolor painting. These recollections are largely disjointed and incomplete. For instance, in "Chinese School," Quan mentions that she ranked almost last in her class. She states that "Papa could not have been proud of me. I so hoped that Buddha and Kwan Yin...would look down on me... with understanding and sympathy!" But the story ends there, so readers don't know how her father actually reacted. The flap copy and introduction are especially problematic, promising a "China forever gone" where "life hasn't changed for centuries." These nostalgic tales do little to address the great upheaval and change created by the political and economic realities of the time. When things such as bandits and pirates are mentioned, they are treated as a fun adventure instead of the terrorizing forces they were. While children such as Quan might not have realized the realities of the situation, or what was happening outside their compound, this lack of information greatly lessens the value of the book for modern readers.-Jennifer Rothschild, Arlington County Public Libraries, VA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2013
Grades 3-6 In Once Upon a Full Moon (2007), Quan wrote about her family's journey from Canada to her parents' home in China. Now, they have arrived, and the vignettes that make up this book describe what it was like in the 1920s for this family of five children to make their home in a country where everything is different. The book is beautifully designedcreamy pages host the one-page events, which are more scraps of memory than stories. Quan, now 90, also provides charming, childlike illustrations that extend the text. The tone of the telling is neutral, whether Quan and her sister are running into a pair of pigs, or pirates are invading the village. A bride comes to the village and paints the girls' faces, much to their grandmother's anger. But two events demand further explanation in an afterword: the fates of Grandmother and a baby brother born in China, who is not allowed to return home when the family's visa runs out after two years. A tender remembrance that will reach today's readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)