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Mieko
A young Japanese-American girl living near the little Tokyo section of Los Angeles decides to surprise and honor her parents by becoming queen of the annual Ondo Parade, a position she can win only by learning all the arts of a true Nisei girl.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1969
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 20, 2021
A wonderful book about Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, the Nisei festival, and a little girl. I read it to my 4 year old and he really enjoyed it; I promised to take him to Nisei week when the Age of Plagues is finally over. I particularly enjoyed the 1950's illustrations of old Little Tokyo and Bunker Hill.
May 5, 2023
Terayaky?! Terayaki? Good heavens, he means teriyaki. :) Just so bizarre to think of a time where 'teriyaki' wasn't a household word. Then again, I'm still trying to picture a girl wearing a kimono, daily, in Los Angeles, and also 'Little Tokyo' during Nisei Week in 1969... surely this was meant to be earlier than that?!
Mieko is a very good (very old fashioned) Japanese daughter, learning ikebana and traditional dance and to be a good hostess and perform the Chanoyu tea ceremony. Her dream is to reward her parents by becoming the Ondo parade queen by dancing the most gracefully and being the most beautiful. She trains extra hard and long in order to be chosen the next year... the final page is of her parents telling her that she need not be selected by the judges for them to see her as living up to her own name (mi = beautiful, e = graceful, ko = (little) girl).
Cute, but something about Politi's very non-Asian sensibilites didn't quite capture the Japanese-ness of the setting, in spite of a teahouse and pond with a formal garden in Mieko's backyard. It feels as if it was written to appeal to teachers and librarians (which is not a crime in itself), but I find his Asian-American books don't quite have the same warmth or passion as his Latin ones. And in this case, I didn't enjoy his artwork (which I didn't think was possible, but here we are!). The colours and the looseness of it just didn't fit with the subject.
Mieko is a very good (very old fashioned) Japanese daughter, learning ikebana and traditional dance and to be a good hostess and perform the Chanoyu tea ceremony. Her dream is to reward her parents by becoming the Ondo parade queen by dancing the most gracefully and being the most beautiful. She trains extra hard and long in order to be chosen the next year... the final page is of her parents telling her that she need not be selected by the judges for them to see her as living up to her own name (mi = beautiful, e = graceful, ko = (little) girl).
Cute, but something about Politi's very non-Asian sensibilites didn't quite capture the Japanese-ness of the setting, in spite of a teahouse and pond with a formal garden in Mieko's backyard. It feels as if it was written to appeal to teachers and librarians (which is not a crime in itself), but I find his Asian-American books don't quite have the same warmth or passion as his Latin ones. And in this case, I didn't enjoy his artwork (which I didn't think was possible, but here we are!). The colours and the looseness of it just didn't fit with the subject.
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April 13, 2022Leo Politi series of books are awesome and very beautiful to look at! The illustrations he draws are very beautiful since they express so many cultures. I love this book about Mieko because it expands students understanding of other cultures. I would defiantly recommend this book to be in a classroom library.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews