American Born Chinese by Gene Yang

Three Alternating Stories:

1. Monkey King, a hero of Chinese folk tales

2. Jin Wang, an Asian-American boy who attends an all-white school

3. Chin-Kee, an embodiment of all negative Chinese Stereotypes

American Born Chinese

First graphic novel to win the Printz Award

Finalist for the National Book Award

American Born Chineseby Gene Luen Yang

• Have you ever felt like you didn’t fit in?

• Have you ever wished you were more like someone else?

• The three characters and stories in American Born Chinese are woven to tell a story that not only explores cultural stereotypes and race they also explore and challenge our own ideas about our own identity and self-acceptance.

What is it like to move to a new place and try to fit in?

What if that place was another country or a place where people thought you were “different” or “weird”? How would that make you feel?

3 Stories

“All Jin Wang wants is to fit in…”

“Born to rule over all the monkeys in the world, the story of the Monkey King…”

“Chin-Kee is the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype…”

ABC

Jin-Wang

p. 30

Understanding Why Jin Felt Alienated at School “Anti-Chinese Agitation” http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/collections/chinese/history4.html

Monkey King Legend

“I've been a fan of the Monkey King since I was a wee lad, listening to my mother tell me his stories at bedtime. Monkey Kingdom is an homage to my favorite fictional character.” Gene YangRead about the Monkey Kingdom: http://www.humblecomics.com/monkey/

•“The Story of Monkey King,” Chinese Legends, http://www.wku.edu/~yuanh/China/tales/monkey.html

“I've been a fan of the Monkey King since I was a wee lad, listening to my mother tell me his stories at bedtime. Monkey Kingdom is an homage to my favorite fictional character.” Gene YangRead about the Monkey Kingdom: http://www.humblecomics.com/monkey/

•“The Story of Monkey King,” Chinese Legends, http://www.wku.edu/~yuanh/China/tales/monkey.html

Monkey stuff is all over the Net. You just gotta know where to look.

China On Site's Journey to the West Galleryhttp://www.china-on-site.com/literatu/classic/west/This site pairs a summary of Journey to the West with incredible Chinese paintings.

The Monkey King's Entry in the International Catalogue of Superheroeshttp://www.internationalhero.co.uk/m/monkey.htmNice to see the Monkey King get some nice props on this site, which mostly focuses on American and British comic book heroes.

Monkey - Great Sage equal of Heaven (Monkey Magic!)http://www.greatsage.netHere's a great fan site that focuses on the classic TV show. It's got summaries of every episode of both series. Very detailed.

http://www.humblecomics.com/monkey/mkchar.html

Chin-Kee

Does acknowledging a stereotype perpetuate it?

Read Gene Yang’s response:http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2007/05/gene_yang_on_st.html

Does acknowledging a stereotype perpetuate it?

Read Gene Yang’s response:http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2007/05/gene_yang_on_st.html

Bibliography

• First Second - Creators - Gene Yang Blog, http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/authors/geneYangBlogMain.html

• Humble Comics, Gene Yang’s Website: http://www.geneyang.com/

• Interview: Sire, Hillary, Community Relations Manager, Barnes & Noble. Telephone Interview. January 2008.

• UXL Graphic Novelists. Tom Pendergast and Sara Pendergast. Sarah Hermsen, ed., 2007, Gale Virtual Reference Library.