Brothers

When Ming arrives in San Francisco after the long ocean journey from China, his older brother Shek wastes no time warning him: “Chinese should not go outside Chinatown.” Years have passed since Ming’s older brothers arrived with the first Chinese railroad workers, but they are still not welcome everywhere. But then Ming meets Patrick, a young Irish boy with a kind heart. Though the boys come from separate worlds, they learn each other’s language and ways. And when Ming’s family’s store is in danger of closing, their new friendship helps save it, and is a crucial first step toward bringing their two communities together.

Beautifully rendered in richly detailed paintings, this inspiring picture book is the follow-up to Yin and Chris Soentpiet’s award-winning Coolies. It is the rarely told story of the first Chinese immigrants and their long road to the American dream, a powerful reminder of what can happen when differences are put aside and friendships are allowed to grow.

A WORD FROM ILLUSTRATOR OF “BROTHERS”:

After the success of COOLIES, Yin and I collaborated again on a sequel. We decided that “BROTHERS” would introduce Irish-Americans to this story because of the important role they played in immigrant life in America. -Chris Soentpiet

BOOK REVIEWS:

“In this sequel to Coolies (2000), young Ming arrives in San Francisco from China, eager to reconnect with his older brothers. Wong has returned to work on the railroads, but Shek invites Ming to help in his struggling Chinatown grocery store. Life is lonely for Ming until he makes friends with Patrick, an Irish immigrant living in a nearby neighborhood. As the friendship progresses, Ming learns some English, which enables him to promote the store to customers outside of Chinatown, greatly improving business. Soentpiet’s luminescent, photo-realistic paintings, which provide many vivid setting details, perfectly complement Yin’s thoughtful text. An afterward clarifies that this story is fiction and offers further information about Irish and Chinese immigration in the mid-1800s and the development of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Great for group sharing, this tale will be welcomed by classes learning about history, immigration, and multiculturalism, as well as how to be a friend.”
-BOOKLIST, Sally Este

“Brothers by Yin, illus. by Chris Soentpiet, continues the family story begun with Coolies (PW wrote, “In an impressive debut, Yin illumines a dark corner of American history”), which explored the mistreatment of the thousands of Chinese immigrants who helped build the transcontinental railroad, as Ming joins his older brother Shek. Glorious light-filled illustrations convey the bustle of San Francisco’s Chinatown as well as the blossoming friendship between Ming and an Irish peer. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.”
-Publishers Weekly

“Young Ming, a Chinese immigrant, arrives in San Francisco in the days of the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. He finds that one of his brothers has gone to work on the railroad, leaving him to work with another brother, Shek, in their grocery in Chinatown. Business is bad, so Shek finds other work, leaving Ming in charge, with a warning that it is dangerous for him, as a Chinese boy, to leave Chinatown. Lonely, Ming wanders out in disguise, making friends with a young boy named Patrick. As the boys spend time together and exchange language lessons, they learn that they have common immigrant experiences. With the help of Patrick and his family, Ming brings business success to the store. The satisfying end finds them “more than friends—…brothers.” Soentpiet’s watercolors, naturalistic and replete with informative details, create stage sets that occupy three quarters of the double-page spreads; just the merchandise that overcrowds the store demands careful examination. The visual sequences depict the growing friendship with honesty and respect. The street scenes add significantly to the understanding of the times. Notes add additional factual information.”
-Children’s Literature

HONORABLE MENTION (for Illustrations in Children’s Literature 2007)

“The story of Chinese immigrants living in the US is continued in this sequel to the award-winning picture book Coolies. Ming, the younger brother of Shek, comes to San Francisco to help his brother in their store in Chinatown. When Shek has to leave the store to find more work, Ming gets tired of the days with no customers and decides to chance a visit outside of Chinatown. He is quickly befriended by an Irish boy, and the two of them become fast friends, helping each other with language and getting more business for the store in Chinatown. The book also contains a final page of historical references and resources. Because of their large size and intricate detail, each one of Chris Soentpiet’s one-and-a-half page illustrations is a story in itself that is added to by Yin’s text. This optimistic story of young immigrants from different cultures working together to create a better life in the US makes this book useful and worthy of attention as an educational resource at many levels.”
– Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association

AWARDS

• California Young Reader Nominee 2008
• Annual Exhibition of the Society of Illustrators 2007
• Junior Library Guild Selection 2006
• International Reading Association (IRA) Teachers’ Choice 2007

 NEW CHINESE VERSION