A review by panda_incognito
I Am an American: The Wong Kim Ark Story by Martha Brockenbrough, Grace Lin
3.0
This is an important story for kids and adults to learn about, but I wish that this nonfiction picture book had included more details and context. Even when I was reading the author's note, I was confused about how some of the additional details there filled in gaps in the child's-level narrative, especially when it came to the passage of time.
I was also unimpressed with a native land acknowledgement near the beginning, because it disrupts the flow of the narrative and is just virtue signaling from the author. "From a spot on a street with two names, on ancestral land of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of Native Americans, Kim Ark knew one thing for sure. I am an American." Um. Okay.
If this book was all from the author's perspective, she could throw that detail in here, but since she's trying to channel this man's perspective, it's jarring for her to bring up a detail that he didn't know and that had nothing to do with his perception or experience. It's choppy, forced, and disrupts the story.
I was also unimpressed with a native land acknowledgement near the beginning, because it disrupts the flow of the narrative and is just virtue signaling from the author. "From a spot on a street with two names, on ancestral land of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of Native Americans, Kim Ark knew one thing for sure. I am an American." Um. Okay.
If this book was all from the author's perspective, she could throw that detail in here, but since she's trying to channel this man's perspective, it's jarring for her to bring up a detail that he didn't know and that had nothing to do with his perception or experience. It's choppy, forced, and disrupts the story.