Why read The Legend of Auntie Po?

Book cover of The Legend of Auntie Po

Book description

A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST

Part historical fiction, part fable, and 100 percent adventure. Thirteen-year-old Mei reimagines the myths of Paul Bunyan as starring a Chinese heroine while she works in a Sierra Nevada logging camp in 1885.

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Aware of the racial tumult in the years after…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Legend of Auntie Po as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Sylvie Kantorovitz

Author

I love learning about life in another time period through a story. This one transported me to a logging camp in 1885. I learned about the life of the camp, the hard and dangerous work, and the treatment of the Chinese workers.

Mei is the daughter of a Chinese cook. She dreams of studying at the university, but doubts she will ever be able to, because of her Chinese origins.

I loved the deep but complex friendships between Mei and the foreman’s daughter and between Mei’s father and the foreman himself. I loved the affection between Mei and her father,…

From Sylvie's list on middle-grade depicting different cultures.

Priya Huq

Author

Shing Yin Khor is one of my all-time favorite artists and creators. They have several works out and you should read all of them. The Legend of Auntie Po is a graphic novel about historical racism and trauma that focuses on the perspectives of the people affected by these issues, and the humanity we all share.

From Priya's list on graphic novels that use environment as storyteller.