The American Wei
PreSchool-Grade 3AWei Fong thinks himself doubly lucky to have a loose tooth just before his family's naturalization ceremony, because he is sure that his first visit from the tooth fairy will happen on the same day he becomes an American citizen. To his great distress, Wei loses his tooth in the middle of the street in front of the courthouse. An international cast of willing helpers, all on their way to the ceremony, rush to his aid. After frantic searching, accompanied by polyglot exclamations (translated on the dedication page), the tooth is found. A solemn naturalization ceremony inside the courthouse and a supper of "dim sum and hot dogs" with neighbors of different ethnicities ends the day. Focusing on a problem that will engage children, the book accentuates the positive, resolutely ignoring any hint of ethnic conflict or the poignancy of forswearing one's birth country. Loosely realistic illustrations paint an appealing picture of a Chinese family and their multiethnic friends. Both art and text present a cheerfully idealized picture of an event that is important in the lives of America's many young immigrants.AMargaret A. Chang, North Adams State College, MACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.