When I was in elementary school, I was obsessed with a picture book about a Japanese girl. I can remember the exact spot in the West Broad Elementary school library where it belonged, the pictures, the burgundy color of the cover. Remembering the title of this beloved book, however was annoyingly difficult and required nearly 45 minutes of my precious time to type absurd phrases into Google, in hopes of rediscovering it. (One Google search: children's book Chinese school girl/tea) I was determined but also, completely doomed.After a long while, I found it and I certainly felt accomplished! The title of this book is Tea with Milk by Allen Say.
As a fourth grader, I would frequently check out Tea with Milk from the library. I would play teacher up in my attic and read it to an empty room, thoughtfully showing the pictures on each page to no audience.
Surprisingly, this book is a fairly mature tale for a child. A Japanese American girl, May, is forced to move to Japan with her parents: switch jeans for a kimono, pancakes for rice. She has to learn Japanese and complete high school all over again. But, she has a dream to be independent, to make a living for herself and to escape the marriage her parent's planned for her. She eventually finds success in the city of Osaka and also love.
Looking back, it is hard to imagine a 10 year old enjoying this kind of story. I look back to that time and find it amazing that I felt so happy simply reading a book to an empty room. This story seems to hold more significance in my life today as I too, dream of traveling and being free of school, parents and Ambler, PA. Looking to the future, I feel confident that I can find the same peace of mind May found, in a new place with change and opportunity everywhere.
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