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A picture book portrait of one of the people who helped support the mission to convince lawmakers to create a national park service and preserve the country's natural wonders. Tie Sing was a Chinese American cook who was hired by Stephen Mather in 1915 when Mather invited writers, tycoons,members of Congress, and a movie star to go camping. His aim was to "sell" them on the beauty of the land and an important part of that trip was making sure all the campers were comfortable and an important part of that was eating well, which is where Tie Sing comes in.
The story covers the delicious meals Sing was able to prepare and all the prep work he did to bring those meals to the table. His job wasn't easy, especially when one of the mules wandered away with all the fine food strapped to its back! Later, food and gear were damaged when a mule got too close to the edge of a cliff and tumbled off the trail. Sing found clever ways to bounce back from every mishap and impressed the campers with his delicious food, which helped in small part to achieve Stephen Mather's goal of getting lawmakers to buy into the national park service idea.
Back matter includes pictures and additional information about Tie Sing as well as some commentary regarding how the author researched her subject and the decisions she made during the writing process as the result of her careful study. A photo of the campers on the trip gathered around a finely set table is also included alongside paragraphs of information about some of the most prominent campers. A selected bibliography and source notes round out the back matter.
Pencil drawings with watercolor washes which were scanned and layered digitally were used to create the artwork for this book. Recommended for grades 2-5+.
The story covers the delicious meals Sing was able to prepare and all the prep work he did to bring those meals to the table. His job wasn't easy, especially when one of the mules wandered away with all the fine food strapped to its back! Later, food and gear were damaged when a mule got too close to the edge of a cliff and tumbled off the trail. Sing found clever ways to bounce back from every mishap and impressed the campers with his delicious food, which helped in small part to achieve Stephen Mather's goal of getting lawmakers to buy into the national park service idea.
Back matter includes pictures and additional information about Tie Sing as well as some commentary regarding how the author researched her subject and the decisions she made during the writing process as the result of her careful study. A photo of the campers on the trip gathered around a finely set table is also included alongside paragraphs of information about some of the most prominent campers. A selected bibliography and source notes round out the back matter.
Pencil drawings with watercolor washes which were scanned and layered digitally were used to create the artwork for this book. Recommended for grades 2-5+.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Fascinating true (as true as possible, given limited resources) story of an American-born Chinese trail cook who helped get the National Park Service started up. He refused to work in a laundry and instead gained a reputation as the best trail cook around, which led to him being hired for a Very Important Camping Trip.
Highly recommended read!
Highly recommended read!
A fascinating title for the anniversary of the establishment of the National Park Service, told through food and perseverance. A brief look at the discrimination Tie Sing may have faced appears at the beginning of the story, with a more detailed description of the racist policies of the U.S. in the back. The bulk of the story, however, focuses on Tie Sing's skill as a chef and mountaineering event planning skills.
This was an incredibly interesting story. I loved learning about this American! He made a significant contribution to our country. His story, though not well known, is just as remarkable as any other. I hope to see more stories like this in the future. America has a colorful tapestry of people; it's about time that we get to learn about the contribution and influence of other groups of people. Bravo!
Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: All
Status: NF, H, B
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: All
Status: NF, H, B
Source: NetGalley
A really interesting story about the start of the National Park Service, and the (previously) unrecognized man who had the brunt of the work in impressing that people who made that happen with his ability to cook gourmet meals on camping trips. The illustrations are really nice, though they hardly ever show any of his menu items (which might be a weird complaint, but this is kind of what the story is about..), but the descriptions of the food alone will be sure to leave you hungry!
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Well now I’m hungry. Master of logistics and improvisation and camp cooking, this is a great bit of history.
One-stop aspirational shopping. What have we got?
- True story
- Set in the Sierra Nevada (OUTDOORS)
- About an American-born Chinese man who didn't want to work in a laundry and instead found his niche as a resourceful trail cook renowned for his gourmet meals (AMERICAN DREAM)
- And was recruited to cook for a two-week horseback camping trip (RIDE, SALLY RIDE)
- Which was organized by tycoon Stephen Mather in order to convince influential men, including one U.S. Congressman and the head of the National Geographic Society to lobby for a National Park Service (WORKED)
- Told in vibrant watercolors that highlight the purple mountains majesty, the dark pines, and the rich umbers of horses and camp equipment (GORGEOUS)
- Augmented by vivid descriptions of sizzling steaks, apple pie, and sourdough biscuits served on fine china and a heavy linen tablecloth under starry skies after a day of riding. (MARTHA STEWART EAT YOUR HEART OUT)
VERDICT: Let me ride through the wide-open country that I love - DON'T FENCE ME IN
#bookaday
- True story
- Set in the Sierra Nevada (OUTDOORS)
- About an American-born Chinese man who didn't want to work in a laundry and instead found his niche as a resourceful trail cook renowned for his gourmet meals (AMERICAN DREAM)
- And was recruited to cook for a two-week horseback camping trip (RIDE, SALLY RIDE)
- Which was organized by tycoon Stephen Mather in order to convince influential men, including one U.S. Congressman and the head of the National Geographic Society to lobby for a National Park Service (WORKED)
- Told in vibrant watercolors that highlight the purple mountains majesty, the dark pines, and the rich umbers of horses and camp equipment (GORGEOUS)
- Augmented by vivid descriptions of sizzling steaks, apple pie, and sourdough biscuits served on fine china and a heavy linen tablecloth under starry skies after a day of riding. (MARTHA STEWART EAT YOUR HEART OUT)
VERDICT: Let me ride through the wide-open country that I love - DON'T FENCE ME IN
#bookaday
In this day, I think it's really important we learn about everyone who has had a hand in making the United States what it is today. And that includes a diverse group of people.
I really enjoyed this story about someone I had never heard of before and what he did to help the history of our National Parks Service.
I really enjoyed this story about someone I had never heard of before and what he did to help the history of our National Parks Service.