This simply told story explores a child's fears about cultural differences and fitting in with understanding and affection. A Chinese-American girl helps her parents open their small neighborhood grocery store every day of the year. However, today is the Fourth of July and her parents just don't understand that customers won't be ordering chow mein and sweet-and-sour pork on this very American holiday. As she spends the day working in the store and watching the local parade, she can't shake her anxiety about her parents' na‹vet‚. When evening arrives along with hungry customers looking "for some Chinese food to go," she is surprised but obviously proud that her parents were right after all: Americans do eat Chinese food on the Fourth of July. Nighttime finds the family atop their roof enjoying fireworks and sharing a neighbor's apple pie. Done in a "variety of printmaking techniques," Chodos-Irvine's illustrations are cheerfully bright and crisp, capturing the spirit of the day as well as the changing emotions of the main character. This second successful collaboration by the creators of Buzz (Harcourt, 2000) is one you won't want to miss.
-Alicia Eames, New York City Public Schools
Summary and Review provided by: School Library Journal - Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Apple Pie 4th Of July, illustrated by Margaret Chodos- Irvine. Sandpiper, 2006. Print.
This would be a great book to use in the classroom because it shows the insecurities of a child's heritage and how those preconcieved notions are proved wrong. This is a great lesson about being okay with who you are and where you come from. It also depicts an American tradition from a new perspective.
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