About this Book:
Part historical fiction, part fable, and 100 percent adventure. Thirteen-year-old Mei reimagines the myths of Paul Bunyan as starring a Chinese heroine while she works in a Sierra Nevada logging camp in 1885.
Aware of the racial tumult in the years after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Mei tries to remain blissfully focused on her job, her close friendship with the camp foreman’s daughter, and telling stories about Paul Bunyan–reinvented as Po Pan Yin (Auntie Po), an elderly Chinese matriarch.
Anchoring herself with stories of Auntie Po, Mei navigates the difficulty and politics of lumber camp work and her growing romantic feelings for her friend Bee. The Legend of Auntie Po is about who gets to own a myth, and about immigrant families and communities holding on to rituals and traditions while staking out their own place in the United States.
*Review Contributed by Karen Yingling, Staff Reviewer*
This was such an intriguing piece of history that I wished it wasn’t a graphic novel, so I could have gotten more information! The illustration style is fresh and new, and the color paletter kept me engaged. The relationship between Mei and Bee will resonate with readers who enjoyed Ostertag’s Girl from the Sea.
This was a really interesting story; I just wanted more information! A great addition to a slowly growing collection of graphic novels with cultural connections like Wang’s Stargazing, Chanani’s Pashmina, Sells’ Cardboard Kingdom and Camper and Raúl the Third’s Lowriders in Space.
*Find More Info & Buy This Book HERE!*