Landed

Landed

Milly Lee

©2006

40 Pages

Ages 9-12

Summary

Landed is the story of a young Chinese boy who was sent to join his father and brothers in America. However, there was a long and difficult process in order for him to be allowed into the country. For him to be accepted, he would have to pass a series of tests and answer a bunch of questions about his family and his home. Sun did not want to disappoint his family and was pleased when he was assigned a tutor to help him prepare for the questioning. Though he boarded the ship with his father, his father was let off straight into the harbor as a returning merchant. Sun, however, was sent to Angel Island where he was detained until they could question him. Sun wasn't too concerned when they asked him about his family. But he never could fully grasp the concept of direction. When he was asked which way certain houses faced, he could not answer. One day, he was handed a package of cookies that had come from his father. Inside the package was his brother's compass. With the help of the compass, Sun answered all of the questions correctly and was allowed to join his father and his brothers in San Francisco.

Though this was one of the longest picture books I have read in a little while, it was still fantastic. What captivated me most was not the story line, but rather it was the sheer amount of detail about Sun's journey. It told exactly what he wore and ate. It told of his friends and their background stories. And it told about every little worry and concern that entered his mind. Normally I don't think that would have interested me that much, but it was presented so well in this book.