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beecheralyson's review against another edition
5.0
Just discovered this book and it is amazing. The story alone is wonderful. It tells about a young Chinese American girl who grows up and becomes an actress in the 1920's and all the discrimination and inequality that she faced and what she learned from it. The illustrations are also incredible. Though it is a picture book, I would recommend it more for 2nd to 4th grade.
debnanceatreaderbuzz's review against another edition
3.0
Paula Yoo! How well I remember her previous book, Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds. What a fantastic story.
So I could not wait to read this one, another biography of an Asian American. This time Woo tells the story of Anna May Wong, an actress in Hollywood in the 1930's through the 1950's. Wong did not like the stereotypical roles of an Asian American woman she often had to play, but it was not until near the end of her career that she decided to stop playing those roles.
The story of Wong is well told, with clear words and expressive pictures.
A little, from the very beginning of the book:
'Anna May Wong struggled to free herself. Tight ropes bound her to the railroad tracks. A plume of smoke puffed into the sky as a train rumbled toward her.
"Stop daydreaming!"
Startled, Anna May opened her eyes. The train vanished. Steam, not smoke, hissed from a nearby boiler filled with dirty clothes.
"Get back to work," snapped her father. "We have a full day's worth of laundry to clean and press."'
So I could not wait to read this one, another biography of an Asian American. This time Woo tells the story of Anna May Wong, an actress in Hollywood in the 1930's through the 1950's. Wong did not like the stereotypical roles of an Asian American woman she often had to play, but it was not until near the end of her career that she decided to stop playing those roles.
The story of Wong is well told, with clear words and expressive pictures.
A little, from the very beginning of the book:
'Anna May Wong struggled to free herself. Tight ropes bound her to the railroad tracks. A plume of smoke puffed into the sky as a train rumbled toward her.
"Stop daydreaming!"
Startled, Anna May opened her eyes. The train vanished. Steam, not smoke, hissed from a nearby boiler filled with dirty clothes.
"Get back to work," snapped her father. "We have a full day's worth of laundry to clean and press."'
mikolee's review against another edition
2.0
A bio of the great and first Chinese American film star Anna May Wong. The water color illustrations nicely portray her beauty and talent. I wish the story had included more details about how young she was when she started and her struggle to gain acceptance by her family. But overall it was a fine intro to the legend.
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