Ming's Christmas Wishes

by Susan L Gong

[sstaley]

Ming's Christmas Wish is the story of a little girl whose parents are Chinese Immigrants. This story takes place in California in the 1930s. Ming doesn't fit in at school because of her race (She doesn't get to be in the school choir) and she doesn't feel American enough because her mother won't let her family get a traditional Christmas tree. I read this to my class and I did have to explain why Ming wasn't allowed into the school choir. It did enable us to have a good conversation about racism and how things have changed through the years.

I really enjoyed the part of the story where Ming's Pop takes her to a friend's house to learn more about her Chinese heritage. The illustrations go along so beautifully with this story. It was nice to discuss traditions in various cultures with my 2nd graders as we are doing our Holidays Around the World studying other celebrations and cultures. As an adult, I would have loved an author's note to know more about the author's family stories that this children's book is inspired by. This cute book is a great avenue for family discussions about differences and traditions.