In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson

This is a good book. In 1947 a young Chinese girl who is called Bandit is told she is going to go to America to join her father. Her name is changed to Shirley Temple Wong. That part of the book gives some insights into how Chinese families were organized at the time.

She and her mother arrive in Brooklyn and it's a form of culture shock for Shirley who has never seen the normal appliances and other things that are quite normal for the city. She enters fifth grade and, at first, has trouble fitting in and even gets physically attacked by a girl bully.

That's one theme of the book, how an immigrant may very well have problems fitting in to a culture quite different from their own. The other theme is how baseball is an important American game, and how it helps Shirley to fit in. She even gets to meet her favorite player, Jackie Robinson.

There's a great analogy of baseball to American life:

'In our national pasttime, each player is a member of a team, but when he comes to bat, he stands alone. One man. Many opportunities. For no matter how far behind, how late in the game, he, by himself, can make a difference. He can change what has been. He can make it a new ball game.

In the life of our nation, each man is a citizen of the United States, but he has the right to pursue his own happiness. For no matter what his race, religion or creed, be he pauper or president, he has the right to speak his mind, to live as he wishes within the law, to elect our officials and stand for office, to excel. To make a difference. To change what has been. To make a better America.'


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