Tea with Milk

Say, Allen. 1999. Tea with Milk. ill. Allen Say. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0395904951.

Summary
Leaving the only home you ever knew to move to the country your parents came from would be hard for anyone.  The same stands true for May, or Masako as she's called in Japan.  She misses so much from her home: fried chicken, spaghetti, college, San Francisco, and even taking her tea with milk and sugar.  She now has to go back to high school, learn calligraphy and flower arranging, and even be introduced to men through a matchmaker.  Through an act of rebellion, May learns that home can be wherever you make it and that love can cross many borders.

Analysis
This is a beautiful book full of many cultural markers.  First, the language is important in this book.  For example, many times May is called "gaijin" which means foreigner. In addition, Say discusses how May wears a kimono.  She is also taught how to perform the tea ceremony and has to work with a matchmaker to find her a husband.  The book also speaks how May's mother felt it was disgraceful for her to work.

In addition to the language, the illustrations about with cultural markers.  For example, in many she is wearing a kimono.  In the pictures, the reader can see the hair texture and styles, face shapes, and oftentimes, Japanese writing in the background.

Finally, this book talks about being out of place.  I think that, regardless of culture, if you are forced to move from your natal home, you feel like a fish out of water.  Any reader from any culture can identify with that feeling and the feeling of wanting what you used to have.

Review Excerpts
School Library Journal - This is a thoughtful and poignant book that will appeal to a wide range of readers, particularly our nation's many immigrants who grapple with some of the same challenges as May and Joseph, including feeling at home in a place that is not their own.

Library Journal - This perfect marriage of artwork and text offers readers a window into a different place and time.

Kirkus Reviews - In describing how his parents met, Say continues to explore the ways that differing cultures can harmonize; A stately cousin to Ina R. Friedman's How My Parents Learned To Eat (1984), also illustrated by Say.

Connections
More books by Allen Say about Japanese cultures:
Emma's Rug
Grandfather's Journey
Erika-San
Kamishibai Man
Tree of Cranes
The Bicycle Man
Home of the Brave
The Lost Lake
Allison
And more...