Mamie Tape Fights to Go to School, by Traci Huahn/Illustrated by Michelle Jing Chang, (May 2024, Crown Books for Young Readers), $19.99, ISBN: 9780593644027
Ages 4-8
Mamie Tape was an 8-year old Chinese girl who fought, alongside her family, to attend school during a time when America was openly hostile to Chinese immigrants – while they labored to build the country. Mamie played alongside the white children in her San Francisco town, but was not allowed to attend the all-white school. Defining her struggle with on the Chinese proverb, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, Traci Huahn and Michelle Jing Chang bring Mamie and her family to life on the page. Huahn tells Mamie’s story and does not shy away from the virulent racism of the time, noting that the school principal told her, “Your kind is not welcome here”; that a preacher in favor of educating Chinese children had his home vandalized; that newspapers of the day resorted to using words like “heathen”, “barbarian”, “trouble”, and “disaster” to refer to children. Chang’s illustrations show the Chinese community in protest, the disappointed faces of the Tape family, and the determination of young Mamie Tape, who made the decision to continue pushing forward to attend school. Back matter includes an epilogue to the Chinese Primary School, which opened in 1885 and where Mamie and her brother Frank attended; an author’s note on the Tape family, complete with photos, and a selected bibliography. Endpapers continue the story by showing Mamie staring out the window of her home, and eventually running, with her brother, dressed for school. A very good study of American attitudes toward the Chinese community and a good addition to historical picture book collections.
Mom Read It 