Little White Duck - by Na Liu & Andrés Vera Martínez (Paperback)

About the Book

The world is changing for two girls in China in the 1970s. Da Qin Big Piano and her younger sister, Xiao Qin Little Piano live in the city of Wuhan with their parents. For decades, China's government had kept the country separated from the rest of the world. When their country's leader, Chairman Mao, dies, new opportunities begin to emerge. Da Qin and Xiao Qin soon learn that their childhood will be much different than the upbringing their parents experienced. Eight short storiesbased on the author's own lifegive readers a unique look at what it was like to grow up in China during this important time in history.

Book Synopsis

The world is changing for two girls in China in the 1970s. Da Qin--Big Piano--and her younger sister, Xiao Qin--Little Piano--live in the city of Wuhan with their parents. For decades, China's government had kept the country separated from the rest of the world. When their country's leader, Chairman Mao, dies, new opportunities begin to emerge. Da Qin and Xiao Qin soon learn that their childhood will be much different than the upbringing their parents experienced.

Review Quotes

"'Little White Duck' isn't Communist propaganda. It is at once more innocent and more sophisticated. What Liu and Martínez do is convey a child's-eye view of a country in transition. Politics, culture and history play into their stories, but the reader's awareness of them is a child's awareness... Their characters are more than just pieces to be puzzled into someone else's narrative. They're living, breathing people." --The New York Times Book Review

-- (11/11/2012 12:00:00 AM)

"Author and illustrator together give us an unvarnished and intimate account of a real childhood: plain-speaking, rough-hewn, and very much down-to-earth. While the time and place the book depicts are very different from our own, there's not a hint of sentimentality or exoticism: the scene where the mother shames the girls into cleaning their plates by telling them the real story about starving children in China is simultaneously horrifying and hilarious. A glossary, a chronology, and an author's note provide context." --starred, The Horn Book Magazine

-- (9/1/2012 12:00:00 AM)

"Based on her childhood experiences, Na Liu and her husband have created a rich, multilayered memoir, incorporating history, geography, language, culture, and mythology into eight short stories; then weaving them together to create an exquisite tapestry of life in China during the 1970s....This picturesque treasure introduces Chinese culture through a personal perspective that is both delightful and thought-provoking." --starred, School Library Journal

-- (9/1/2012 12:00:00 AM)

"Liu and Martínez find the universal moments in the details of an exotic land, inviting readers to see themselves in Da Qin's experiences of friendship, family and country. An extraordinary graphic novel-memoir by a husband-and-wife team offering a rare view of 1970s China." --Shelf Awareness

-- (9/26/2012 12:00:00 AM)

"Liu is a calm storyteller whose words are enlivened by Martinez's enthusiastic and energetic art, and their respective tones complement each other fluidly. Martinez's work is a loving depiction of his wife in childhood, providing atmosphere through not only his period details in the stories, but also the between-story spreads that broaden the reader's scope in understanding life in China at that time." --Publishers Weekly

-- (6/4/2012 12:00:00 AM)

"The stories are vivid even without Martinéz's bold artwork that evokes both traditional Chinese scrolls and midcentury propaganda posters. The result is a memoir that reads like a fable, a good story with a moral that resonates." --Booklist Online

-- (9/6/2012 12:00:00 AM)

"This is a beautiful introduction to a China that few of us will ever understand." --starred, Library Media Connection

-- (1/1/2013 12:00:00 AM)

"With this intimate look at her childhood memories, Liu skillfully weaves factual tidbits into the rich tapestry of her life...Beautifully drawn and quietly evocative." --starred, Kirkus Reviews

-- (9/15/2012 12:00:00 AM)