Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Kati-Jane-Vejjajiva/dp/1416917888
Antheneum Books for Young Readers Published in Thailand in 2003, Published in U.S. 2006
144 pages, ages 9-12
www.simonsayskids.comThe author Jane Vejjajiva is the sister of the Prime Minister of Thailand.
This is her first novel.
This book was borrowed from the library for the purpose of reading/reviewing.
Kati is 9 years old and in the fourth grade. She lives in a coastal community in Thailand with her maternal grandparents.
Kati's mother is ill with Lou Gehrig's disease. Kati has lived with her grandparents most of her life.
Her mother was an attorney as was the grandfather (now retired). The father of Kati is not in the story.
The book begins with showing the reader the daily life of Kati: food, school, transportation, the environment of her home and community, her Buddhist religion. The book then descends in to the reason the book was written: in helping Kati deal with the serious disease of her mother, the affects on the family, the outlook of the future, the disease and its ramifications on how others see this disease.
This is a book dealing with serious themes. It would not be appropriate for all children, maybe most children.
I would not read this book to a child unless the child has a terminally ill relative, this book could be used in helping the child---yet it also shows a peek at the culture of Thailand.
I would not recommend this book to just anyone, a parent would need to read the book first then decide.
Blissful Reading!
Annette
Southeast Asia’s literature is as rich and diverse as the region itself, but unfortunately, there’s still a derth of books for children by Southeast Asian authors translated into English. Even when they are written in English by Southeast Asian writers, such as the books by Singaporean Shamini Flint and Malaysian Margaret Lim), they rarely find their way into the US or other English speaking countries. It’s fairly easy to find factual books or folktale retellings, but the majority of the books in English related to the region are written by European or American authors.
PaperTigers this week joins many other bloggers on a virtual tour of children’s literature from/about Southeast Asia by pointing readers to reviews and blog posts written by our team:
Former PaperTigers blog contributor Janet Brown has looked closely at the book Happiness of Kati, by Thai writer Jane Vejjajiva. Aimed at 12+ year-olds, the book was the first children’s book to win the S.E.A. Write Award, given to the best literature by Southeast Asians. Read Janet’s three posts about the book (1, 2, 3), as she gets deeper into the beautifully layered story of a Thai girl and her family. And for an interesting look on the world of children’s books in Thailand, read the transcript of a paper by Jane Vejjajiva, presented at the IBBY Congress, in 2008.
Reviewed by Charlotte, The Killing Sea (Simon & Schuster) by lifelong Bali resident Richard Lewis is a fictionalized account of the impact of the 2004 Tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia, particularly in the lives of two teenagers caught up in the tragedy. Lewis’ The Flame Tree, also set in Indonesia in post 9/11, is another important title, as it helps dispel stereotypes, especially common since then, about the Islamic world.
The Bee Tree
, written by Stephen Buchmann and Diana Cohn, illustrated by Paul Mirocha (Cinco Puntos), is a coming-of-age story that blends “myth, geography, and harvest and Islamic rituals to create a rich tapestry of multicultural experiences”.
The round-up of the Southeast Asia blog tour, with links to all participating posts, will be posted at Chasing Ray on Wednesday, 08/12 (which means bloggers still have time to send in their posts!). We are looking forward to finding out what others have contributed to the feast!
We have deeply enjoyed hosting the Tiger’s Choice, the PaperTigers’ online bookgroup, over the past year–it introduced us to a number of interesting books, a group of authors whom we hadn’t read before, and a collection of new friends from around the globe who joined in our discussions.
Nancy Farmer, Uma Krishnaswami, Ken Mochizuki, Minfong Ho, Jane Vejjajiva, Julia Alvarez, John Boyne, Katia Novet Saint-Lot are all authors whom we plan to return to again and again for reading that expands our cultural horizons. As their body of work increases, the Tiger’s Bookshelf will be there–to read, to praise, to cheer them on.
We will however be doing this in another form rather than through the Tiger’s Choice. As exciting and rewarding as it has been to explore books through this avenue, we have new plans for the Tiger’s Bookshelf that do not include our bookgroup. We thank all of you who have read this portion of our blog, and who have joined in the discussions, and hope that you will continue to be part of the ongoing conversation that will take place on the PaperTigers Blog, and through the Tiger’s Bookshelf!
very interesting,
very interesting,