MMGM: When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

"Long, long ago, when tiger walked like man..."

It's the summer before Lily begins seventh grade, and her widowed Korean American mother suddenly decides to move her and older sister Sam from their home in California to Sunbeam, Washington, to live with their Halmoni, who is very ill. Lily claims that her one superpower is the ability to make herself invisible, or what her sister calls a QAG - quiet Asian girl, unlike Sam who is always able to fit in and get along with people. But neither girl wants to move to Sunbeam.

Sure, Lily and Sam had always enjoyed visiting their Korean grandmother and hearing her stories. They especially like the way she would have them pretend to grab a star containing a story. Their favorite story was about a tiger and two sisters who became the sun and the moon to escape the tiger. So when Lily sees a large magical tiger sitting by the side of the road into Sunbeam, she knows she can tell her Halmoni about it.

But Halmoni's reaction when she hears about the tiger, isn't what Lily expects. She tells Lily that long ago she had stolen something from the tiger and stashed it away in some jars. Now, the tiger has come looking for what belongs to her. But what could Halmoni possibly have stolen from a magical tiger? The answer is in a story that Halmoni tells Lily one night about a lonely sky princess who whispers stories to the night. The stories become stars that light the world. But as a little girl, Halmoni didn't like some of the star stories that made her sad and thought they were dangerous. So she stole them and put them into jars. Now, the tiger wants them back.

So with the help of new friend Ricky, they build a tiger trap in the basement, using boxes that Halmoni had stacked by the basement door. One of the boxes contains jars and Lily is convinced that these are the star jars that Halmoni had used to hid the tiger's stories. Sure enough, that night the tiger is in the basement waiting for Lily. When she offers her a deal - return the stories and Halmoni would feel better - Lily is at first hesitant, but later, desperate to help her sick grandmother, she accepts it. With the release and telling of each story star, Lily begins to fill in the blank spots in Halmoni's past, sorting through and separating fact from fiction.

When You Trap a Tiger is just simply a wonderful, unputdownable story. The balance of realism and magical realism is so seamlessly done, nothing jars and even the tiger, appearing and disappearing like a Cheshire cat, becomes believable in the skilled hands of author Tae Keller. Story and characters are well-drawn and equally nuanced, playing their parts perfectly. The cast of characters is small and no character, not even Ricky, is gratuitous.

Keller addresses a number of themes in this book - loss, grief, family history, identity, and LGTBQ - but at heart is the theme of storytelling. As the tiger tells Lily, stories have the power to change someone, even if don't always end happily. The release of Halmoni's stories helps Lily discover not only who her grandmother is, but who she herself is and can be, and the lesson learned is that it is up to Lily to create her own story, making this a powerful coming-of-age tale.

At one point in the book, Halmoni tells Lily "everything a little bit magic." What a wonderful time to be a reader and be able to read magical stories like this.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle. 

PoPo's Lucky Chinese New Year by Virginia Loh-Hagan, illustrated by Renné Benoit

It's almost Chinese New Year, and PoPo has come all the way from China to celebrate with her Chinese American granddaughter. And as her granddaughter learns, there is a lot to do to get ready for the New Year celebrations. There's cleaning, washing, and cooking, red and gold decorations be made and hung up, including a sign the says Fu - but remember hang it upside down to mean luck has arrived.

When the New Year finally arrives, PoPo, her granddaughter and little grandson first make an offering to their ancestors, then get dressed in their new red clothes. And then there are yummy almond cookies to eat (I loved these as a kid and still do) and off to the big dragon parade, where they throw tiny firecracker snaps to chase away the evil spirits. All this is followed by a red and gold lucky envelope with crisp new money in it.

PoPo's Lucky Chinese New Year is a sweet intergenerational story. Having grandmother come from China makes the learning experience for her granddaughter all the more fun and important. Cultural beliefs and rituals are often handed down from one generation to another, but this brings the meanings so much closer to the (unnamed) Chinese American granddaughter, as sometimes ritual is observed, but the reasons for them can get lost.

The story isn't particularly text heavy, and I think readers may find the explanation for each ritual, which is done in yellow against a strip of red at the bottom or top of the page, very interesting, without being overwhelming, nor do they interfere with the story. The pencil and watercolor illustrations are homey, warm and inviting. They really capture the little girl's different moods as the family get ready for New Year; after all, sometimes it is just hard work, but other times it is so much fun; sometimes baby brothers are pests, and other times, they are cuddly. 

As much as I enjoyed reading about why things are done for the New Year, I was a little thrown off by the fact that the girl and her baby brother weren't named. Also, I am so used to hearing Mandarin that the Cantonese threw me off at first.  For example, I think of lucky money as hongbao not lai see. But in fact, most Chinese people in the United States are Cantonese, so it made sense in the end.

PoPo's Lucky Chinese New Year is an excellent way to teach all young readers, regardless of whether they are Chinese or not, about this most significant celebration in the lunar calendar, while stressing the importance of family, and especially grandparents, for connecting kids to their past and their culture.

At the end of the book, you will find instructions for making a Chinese pellet Drum to make some noise and help chase away the evil spirits.

Here are some other instructions for more easy crafts young readers might like:

Kids may have fun making their own lai see. Simple instructions and templates can be found HERE.

Chinese New Year lanterns are also popular to make and easy instructions and templates can be found HERE.

Crayola has a nice, easy dragon puppet that can be made by kids HERE.

This book is recommended for readers age 4+

This book was purchased for my personal library

祝好运、健康、佳肴伴你度过一个快乐新年

Good Luck, Good Health, Good Cheer and Pass a Happy New Year