Boston Area Moms Speak Out Against Children’s Book ‘Bamboo’
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Yoko Kawashima Watkins, the author of “So Far from the Bamboo Grove,” speaks to students about her book at a school./Courtesy of Belmont Public Schools
Watching her 11-year-old son cry after reading a children’s book made Agnes Ahn ask a few questions.
As a mother who had been volunteering in the Boston area school system for the past 10 years, Ahn knew that ``So Far from the Bamboo Grove’’ was certainly not equivalent to ``Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’’ or any other typical happy-ending kids book.
``I wondered what would make my son so sad. I wondered what the book was about,’’ Ahn said in an interview with The Korea Times.
Her initial questions began to find answers when her fifth-grade son, whom she asked to keep anonymous, asked, ``Why were the Koreans so mean to the Japanese people?’’
When the concerned mother picked up the book, which had been around her house because her older daughter had read it years before, she noticed the front cover.
``The picture of soldiers and a family on the jacket illustration _ I thought the family was Korean and the soldiers were Japanese, but it was actually the other way around,’’ Ahn said.
The book’s author, Massachusetts resident Yoko Kawashima Watkins, calls the award-winning book a ``fictionalized autobiography.’’ It portrays the story of 11-year-old Yoko and her wealthy family as they escape in the ruins of war.
The controversy rises over the storytelling. Many argue that the Japanese people’s wrongdoings against the Korean people are not mentioned.
``Korea is portrayed as part of a Japanese empire, and the book doesn’t mention the invasion or the Japanese occupation,’’ she said.
She said she had to remind her third-generation Korean-American son that his grandparents went through the war.
``Don’t you remember grandma and grandpa talking about the war?’’ Ahn said she asked her son. ``I explained that they were taught to count in Japanese and have Japanese names as well because they were under the rule of Japan.’’
Although Ahn clarified for her son, she knew that correcting the inaccurate historical content of the book at home wouldn’t be enough.
She got in touch with Sheila Jaung, a Korean mother who has a child who attends the same school, and decided to approach the school committee.
Ahn and Jaung presented the book to a subcommittee of six people _ the principal, two English teachers, a social studies teacher, a librarian and a parent.
``After some discussion, the book was unanimously voted in November to be removed from the school’s reading list,’’ Ahn said. ``But that wasn’t the end of the issue.’’
The book voting was extended to the regional school committee. Convincing that panel was more difficult for the mothers.
``One of the English teachers was a friend of Yoko,’’ Ahn said.
The teacher called for support from other parents and teachers, claiming that Korean parents were trying to censor the book, Ahn said.
However, the 13 parents protesting the book were not all Korean.
``The school district only has about three to four Korean students,’’ said Ahn, who lives in a suburban town about 15 miles west of Boston. ``The other parents in our group are not Koreans, but they want a change because of the book’s graphic descriptions.’’
She said they did not even ask for the book to be completely removed from the curriculum.
``We just asked for a few things _ move the book up to an older grade, teach history regarding the same time period of the book’s setting and don’t bring the author to the school anymore,’’ Ahn said.
But the requests were not met.
Watkins had been visiting schools to talk about the book, and the school’s superintendent decided in a Jan. 2 committee meeting that the book wouldn’t be of interest to older children.
``Since so many people want to keep the book, they are going to try to balance with Korean history and another Korean book,’’ Ahn said. Some books under consideration are Sook Nyul Choi’s ``Year of Impossible Goodbyes’’ and Linda Sue Park’s ``When My Name Was Keoko.’’
Although the book will remain part of the curriculum in the school district where Ahn lives, she said that the book has done a lot of good things.
``We’re bringing public awareness now. We’re taking something negative into positive,’’ said the 45-year-old mother of two, who works as an obstetrician in a Boston area hospital. ``This book is serving as a launching point to tell the true stories during World War II.’’
``Why the sudden fuss about the book?’’ many local people ask. Ahn, emphasizing that the book has been in numerous school systems for more than a decade, said in reply: ``My husband and I are one of the oldest second-generation Koreans. Prior to that, first-generation Koreans simply want their children to blend in with the crowd, and many parents did not even know how to make a protest.’’
With some parents speaking out, the recent movement against ``So Far From the Bamboo Grove’’ had been spreading in the eastern U.S.
``I’ve been contacted by Susanna Park from New York last November,’’ Ahn said. Park and her daughter Bo-eun made news when the seventh-grader refused to attend school as long as the book was part of the curriculum. ``I met with Susanna, and I think her daughter is a very brave little girl.’’
Ahn said history must be accurately represented, especially for the younger kids, who assume everything they read is true.
``We’re not afraid to make a challenge,’’ she said.
end
http://search.hankooki.com/times/times_view.php?term=yoko++&path=hankooki3/times/lpage/nation/200701/kt2007012319465352910.htm&media=kt
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Yoko Kawashima Watkins, the author of “So Far from the Bamboo Grove,” speaks to students about her book at a school./Courtesy of Belmont Public Schools
Watching her 11-year-old son cry after reading a children’s book made Agnes Ahn ask a few questions.
As a mother who had been volunteering in the Boston area school system for the past 10 years, Ahn knew that ``So Far from the Bamboo Grove’’ was certainly not equivalent to ``Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’’ or any other typical happy-ending kids book.
``I wondered what would make my son so sad. I wondered what the book was about,’’ Ahn said in an interview with The Korea Times.
Her initial questions began to find answers when her fifth-grade son, whom she asked to keep anonymous, asked, ``Why were the Koreans so mean to the Japanese people?’’
When the concerned mother picked up the book, which had been around her house because her older daughter had read it years before, she noticed the front cover.
``The picture of soldiers and a family on the jacket illustration _ I thought the family was Korean and the soldiers were Japanese, but it was actually the other way around,’’ Ahn said.
The book’s author, Massachusetts resident Yoko Kawashima Watkins, calls the award-winning book a ``fictionalized autobiography.’’ It portrays the story of 11-year-old Yoko and her wealthy family as they escape in the ruins of war.
The controversy rises over the storytelling. Many argue that the Japanese people’s wrongdoings against the Korean people are not mentioned.
``Korea is portrayed as part of a Japanese empire, and the book doesn’t mention the invasion or the Japanese occupation,’’ she said.
She said she had to remind her third-generation Korean-American son that his grandparents went through the war.
``Don’t you remember grandma and grandpa talking about the war?’’ Ahn said she asked her son. ``I explained that they were taught to count in Japanese and have Japanese names as well because they were under the rule of Japan.’’
Although Ahn clarified for her son, she knew that correcting the inaccurate historical content of the book at home wouldn’t be enough.
She got in touch with Sheila Jaung, a Korean mother who has a child who attends the same school, and decided to approach the school committee.
Ahn and Jaung presented the book to a subcommittee of six people _ the principal, two English teachers, a social studies teacher, a librarian and a parent.
``After some discussion, the book was unanimously voted in November to be removed from the school’s reading list,’’ Ahn said. ``But that wasn’t the end of the issue.’’
The book voting was extended to the regional school committee. Convincing that panel was more difficult for the mothers.
``One of the English teachers was a friend of Yoko,’’ Ahn said.
The teacher called for support from other parents and teachers, claiming that Korean parents were trying to censor the book, Ahn said.
However, the 13 parents protesting the book were not all Korean.
``The school district only has about three to four Korean students,’’ said Ahn, who lives in a suburban town about 15 miles west of Boston. ``The other parents in our group are not Koreans, but they want a change because of the book’s graphic descriptions.’’
She said they did not even ask for the book to be completely removed from the curriculum.
``We just asked for a few things _ move the book up to an older grade, teach history regarding the same time period of the book’s setting and don’t bring the author to the school anymore,’’ Ahn said.
But the requests were not met.
Watkins had been visiting schools to talk about the book, and the school’s superintendent decided in a Jan. 2 committee meeting that the book wouldn’t be of interest to older children.
``Since so many people want to keep the book, they are going to try to balance with Korean history and another Korean book,’’ Ahn said. Some books under consideration are Sook Nyul Choi’s ``Year of Impossible Goodbyes’’ and Linda Sue Park’s ``When My Name Was Keoko.’’
Although the book will remain part of the curriculum in the school district where Ahn lives, she said that the book has done a lot of good things.
``We’re bringing public awareness now. We’re taking something negative into positive,’’ said the 45-year-old mother of two, who works as an obstetrician in a Boston area hospital. ``This book is serving as a launching point to tell the true stories during World War II.’’
``Why the sudden fuss about the book?’’ many local people ask. Ahn, emphasizing that the book has been in numerous school systems for more than a decade, said in reply: ``My husband and I are one of the oldest second-generation Koreans. Prior to that, first-generation Koreans simply want their children to blend in with the crowd, and many parents did not even know how to make a protest.’’
With some parents speaking out, the recent movement against ``So Far From the Bamboo Grove’’ had been spreading in the eastern U.S.
``I’ve been contacted by Susanna Park from New York last November,’’ Ahn said. Park and her daughter Bo-eun made news when the seventh-grader refused to attend school as long as the book was part of the curriculum. ``I met with Susanna, and I think her daughter is a very brave little girl.’’
Ahn said history must be accurately represented, especially for the younger kids, who assume everything they read is true.
``We’re not afraid to make a challenge,’’ she said.
end
http://search.hankooki.com/times/times_view.php?term=yoko++&path=hankooki3/times/lpage/nation/200701/kt2007012319465352910.htm&media=kt
