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Sep 14, 2017
This is a sweet story about a Chinese immigrant boy who lives with his grandfather who operates a hotel during the height of the California gold rush. The child, Chang, has no friends to play with and is sometimes made fun of by the traveling gold miners. He longs for a pony so that he can have an animal friend, but alas, he can't afford one. He decides to try his hand at gold mining, but is unsuccessful. A sweet story with a happy twist of an ending, this is a good book for introducing children to the topic of Chinese immigration and the California gold rush. A couple notes for parents: -On page 24, Chang's tutor whacks him with a stick for daydreaming during his lesson. -On page 36, Chang's grandfather gives him permission to try gold mining just once, saying, "Maybe the fat God of Luck will smile upon you." -Page 8 discusses American children throwing rocks at Chang, and pages 15-17 discuss adult gold miners pulling his hair and laughing at his mannerisms. You may wish to be prepared to discuss some of these topics as you go through the book with your child(ren).