Tag: book review

Watercress by Andrea Wang- a book review

In this post I review “Watercress,” a children’s book by Andrea Wang. It tells the story of a girl who feels embarrassed when her family stops to pick watercress during a drive. Through a meal and her parents’ memories, she gains appreciation for her heritage and family. Illustrated by Jason Chin, it explores cultural identity and belonging. This is a book children and their parents will equally appreciate.

Watercress

(Spanish) Berros

By Andrea Wang

Illustrated by Jason Chin
  • Caldecott Medal Winner, 2022
  • Newbery Honor Book
  • APALA Award Winner

The story

Out for a drive with her parents and brother, a young girl gets irritated when they suddenly stop, pull over, and pile out of the car to pick wild watercress growing in a stream beside the highway.

“Watercress” they (her parents) exclaim, two voices heavy with emotion. 

As they wade in cold, muddy water to pick “weeds”, she hopes no one she knows drives by and sees her. They head home and she grows more resentful after her mother cooks the watercress for them to eat. She doesn’t want to eat “dinner from a ditch.”

But with dinner, comes a photo and a story about her parents’ life in China, before they emigrated to the United States. From the story, the girl finds a new appreciation for her family, and for watercress.

“I take a bite of watercress and it bites back with its spicey peppery taste. It is delicate and slightly bitter, like mom’s memories.”

Watercress

Click here to take a look at Watercress

Andrea Wang -Author

As you may have guessed from her name, Ms. Wang’s family is from China, and this story is autobiographical, as she explains in her author’s note.

“This story is both an apology and a love letter to my parents.”

Andrea Yang

Her work explores culture, creative thinking, and identity. Her debut middle-grade novel, The Many Meanings of Meilan, is also a JLG Gold Standard Selection. She is also the author of seven nonfiction titles for the library and school market. Andrea holds an M.S. in Environmental Science and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing for Young People. She lives in the Denver area with her family. 

other books by Andrea Wang

What’s Great about Georgia?
Learning about Asia (Searchlight Books ™ ― Do You Know the Continents?

Jason Chin-Illustrator

The artist, also the child of Chinese immigrants, wrote in his note

“When I was painting, I drew on my own memories of exclusion, loss, and guilt with the hope that they might seep into the art and add another layer to Andrea’s remarkable story.”

Jason Chin

Caldecott Medalist Jason Chin is the author and illustrator of numerous award-winning picture books. Jason lives in Vermont with his wife, Deirdre Gill, and their two children.

books authored and illustrated by Jason

Gravity
Your Place in the Universe

Why I recommend Watercress

I had never heard of this book when I stumbled upon it in a bookstore. I’m always interested in anything written about watercress, even though despite the title it’s not the topic of this blog. As I perused the pictures and read the story, I was captivated by both the story and the illustrations.

If you come from a family that makes you “different” than the people you live around, you will understand why the young girl in this story dislikes watercress so much. But by learning the reason for her parents’ “voices heavy with emotion” she came to understand that differences are what make us who we are and sharing difficult and painful histories make families who they are and bring us closer together.

The storyline is simple, straightforward, and easy to understand. This is a children’s book recommended for ages 6-9 years, but older children, teens, and adults can enjoy and learn from it.

Mr. Chin explains he used watercolor in both Chinese and Western techniques creating illustrations with soft muted colors and detailed facial expressions that almost appear to be photos. Some details tell a story in themselves- an American flag on a barn on the highway, a framed picture of the parents in China, and the girl’s tee shirt with the word PLAY across the front.

This book touches your mind and heart with a timeless lesson we all need to learn and be reminded of. Like the watercress plant, it is short but nurturing and powerful. Introduce this book to your children and yourself.

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“healing the homeless”-a review of ROUGH SLEEPERS

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder presents the challenges and triumphs of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program in his new book. It gives an insight into the lives of the homeless ‘rough sleepers’, their struggles, and their stories. Primarily focusing on Dr. Jim O’Connell’s dedication, the book uncovers his 30-year journey caring for Boston’s homeless population, battling societal and political neglect, and medical inconsistencies.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder takes us on a virtual ride through the streets of Boston to introduce us to the homeless “rough sleepers” and the people who care for their medical needs. If you care or are simply curious about the homeless people on the streets of your community, you should read this book.

Rough Sleepers:

Dr. Jim O’Connell’s urgent mission to bring healing to homeless people 

by Tracy Kidder

The Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program has served thousands of people for over 30 years. Tracy Kidder rode on the program’s outreach van with the director Dr. Jim O’Connell, whose one-year commitment turned into a 30-year mission. Caring for the “rough sleepers”-those who sleep on the sidewalks, doorsteps, and parks of Boston’s streets- wasn’t what he envisioned when he finished his medical residency in 1985.

For five years the author rode along the late-night rounds with the Harvard-educated physician. He learned what the program does and why it matters. Homeless people are often alcoholic, drug addicted, ex-cons, mentally ill, or suffering from serious chronic illnesses. Living on the streets makes it impossible to get the kind of consistent medical care they need.

The homeless tend to distrust outsiders, especially the medical and mental health community. But through patience and persistence, Dr. Jim and the other staff won their trust by treating them as human beings with complicated stories that brought them to the streets and keeps them there.

The narrative reads like a novel as Mr. Kidder tells the backstories of these people shunned and ignored by society, but whom the doctors, nurses, counselors, and therapists treat with dignity and respect. He describes their frustration when the rough sleepers shun the care they offer or relapse after seeking care, as well as the lack of financial support from the political powers.

One rough sleeper, Tony, forms a special bond with Dr. Jim and we learn the most about him. Mr. Kidder relates his story bit by bit to a shocking climax when we learn what drove him to the streets and kept him there long-term.

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Rough Sleepers is not an easy book to read but is equally hard not to read. I found myself cheering for the staff when they get someone off the streets and into a small apartment but grieving when they lose one to disease, violence, or a drug overdose. I am inspired by the perseverance and persistence of Dr. O’Connell and his co-workers in caring for a population of patients for which there is often little positive feedback.

Content warning-this is a true story about people with rough lives. There is candid discussion of drug and alcohol use, medical conditions and treatments, and various types of sexual behaviors.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Professional Reader 25 Book Reviews

Jim O’Connell, M.D.

Dr. O’Connell is the President of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and teaches and writes about care for the homeless. He wrote about his experiences caring for the homeless in, Stories From the Shadows: Reflections of a Street Doctor

Tracy Kidder wrote about another physician, Dr. Paul Farmer.

Mountains Beyond Mountains:

The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World 

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In medical school, Paul Farmer found his life’s calling: to cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most.

Tracy Kidder’s account shows how one person can make a difference through a clear-eyed understanding of the interaction of politics, wealth, social systems, and disease.

Profound and powerful, Mountains Beyond Mountains takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes people’s minds through his dedication to the philosophy that “the only real nation is humanity.”

Amazon

Mr. Kidder won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981 for

The Soul of A New Machine 

Tracy Kidder’s “riveting” (Washington Post) story of one company’s efforts to bring a new microcomputer to market won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and has become essential reading for understanding the history of the American tech industry.

exploring the HEART of health

You can use the links to learn more about these books, the authors, and the physicians. Watch a video at the Boston program link to learn more about the care they provide. Some are affiliate links that may pay a commission to this blog.

This post’s cover photo is courtesy of Pexels and was shot by photographer Timur Weber.

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Medical stethoscope and heart on a textured background

Dr Aletha