The Lost Umbrella of Kim Chu

by Eleanor Estes, Jacqueline Ayer

Nine-year-old Kim Chu lived in New York City's Chinatown, near the rumbling elevated trains and—best of all—near the Chatham Square Library. Each year her father made a beautiful dragon for the New Year's Day Parade and this year his dragon had won the prize—an elegant black umbrella with a little secret compartment in the handle.
One rainy day, Kim Chu borrowed the umbrella without permission to protect the library books she was returning, and while she chose new books it was stolen from the umbrella stand! It must be found. Though she had never traveled alone before, Kim Chu's search led her on an adventurous journey—onto an El train that raced and rattled to South Ferry and then onto a ferry boat to Staten Island. With her best friend, Mae Lee, using their special code, they kept watch on a mysterious stranger and a laughing lady and in the end they solved the mystery of the lost umbrella in a wholly satisfying way.
Winner of the Newbery Award for Ginger Pye, author of the much-loved Moffat books and, more recently, The Coat-Hanger Christmas Tree, Eleanor Estes has drawn from her remembrances of the children who came to the Chatham Square Library in Chinatown, where she once worked, to create this humorous and childlike story, one that warmly evokes the specialness of New York's Chinatown and that is perfectly matched by Jacqueline Ayer's charming pen-and-ink drawings.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction

85 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1978

About the author

Eleanor Ruth Rosenfeld (Estes)was an American children's author. She was born in West Haven, Connecticut as Eleanor Ruth Rosenfield. Originally a librarian, Estes' writing career began following a case of tuberculosis. Bedridden while recovering, Estes began writing down some of her childhood memories, which would later turn into full-length children's books.

Estes's book Ginger Pye (1951) won the Newbery Medal, and three of her other books (The Middle Moffat, Rufus M., and The Hundred Dresses) were chosen as Newbery Honor books. She also received the Certificate of Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Literature and was nominated for the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award. By the time of her death at age 82, Estes had written 19 children's books and one novel for adults.

Reviews

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this a 3.5 star-rating. It might not be one of Estes best, but it's cute, child-like, mysterious and fun, and well worth the read!

What begins as a lost umbrella turns into a mystery with a robber, and then a whole racket of robbers that are in cahoots to steal this very special umbrella. At least that's what grows from the imaginations of the two girls that are tracking the umbrella down. They spy, talk in secret code, ride a ferry, meet the Millionaire Man and the mysterious Laughing Lady and restore the umbrella back to Kim's father, all before he gets home from work.

Ages: 6 - 12

Cleanliness: nothing to note.

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[Becca Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a true delight of a read aloud. The story of Kim Chu is set in NYC in the early 20th century. We felt like we were really there, on the run with Kim Chu as she frantically looks for her father’s precious umbrella. I appreciate that this was written about a time and culture I haven’t experienced and, I must admit, have a hard time wrapping my mind around. Would a grandmother really slap her granddaughter out alone into NYC to do something like this? Having discussed Chinese culture with immigrant friends, I believe the author’s story - not that she’s telling this as an actual event. I’m so glad things ended well for the whole Chu family. I think it’s vitally important for children to have diverse stories that are about many different times in American history told from different points of view; it helps us all to have respect for different cultures.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eleanor Estes is one of our favorite authors to read aloud! Josh really enjoyed this story about girls his age trying to solve a mystery.

[Betsie Bush · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet little book. I loved how the girls made up stories about the people on the boat and how it all worked out alright at the end. The weak point of this book is that it was written by an author of non-Asian descent and relied on some stereotypes of the era. However, for the time, there were so few children's books about Asian-American children, that it was a good effort (for that time period). The stereotypes are not over-the-top or exaggerated, and the focus is definitely on the adventure.

[Komal]

This was quite an enjoyable childhood read. The settings were extremely vivid.