Onion Tears

A Vietnamese refugee unfolds the events that brought her to Australia. She's now living with ``Auntie'' (not a relative), a kindly restaurant owner, and her helper Chu Minh, who ``has only had hunger and sadness all his life.'' Thoughtlessly cruel, most of the other children tease Nam-Huong about her name, the food she brings for lunch, and even her withdrawn silence (helping Auntie, Nam chops onions and weeps ``onion tears...I wish I could cry real ones''). Gradually, as Nam begins to reach out, she reveals--in an understated narrative interspersed with poignant letters to animals she remembers from her homeland--her yearning for her lost family and her traumatic escape by boat with her grandfather, who died during a long, terrible crossing. When her beloved teacher falls ill, it seems that Nam may suffer still another loss. Instead, Miss Lily's recovery makes it possible at last for Nam to confide her pent-up grief. This profoundly moving novel perceptively and convincingly re-creates what one child might have experienced, confronting her troubles without self-pity. In spare, lyrical prose, Kidd portrays Nam with skillfully chosen detail that's sure to evoke empathy. Unusually appealing small format with many attractive b&w drawings. (Fiction. 7-10) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Grade 3-5-- Nam-Huong, a young Vietnamese girl, tries to adjust to her new life in Australia where she lives with a kind Vietnamese woman she calls Auntie. Children at school try to make friends with Nam but, haunted by memories of her family missing in Vietnam, she rejects their overtures. In time, with the help of her understanding teacher and supported by Auntie and her friend Chu Minh, she is able to come to terms with the terrifying experiences of her past and accept her new life while maintaining precious memories of her family. The story is sympathetic and well told, giving children an idea of how noncombatants, in this case a little girl, suffered during the Vietnam Conflict. If most of the characters are a bit flat, Nam herself comes across as a believable child. The Little Weaver of Thai-Yen Village (Children's Book Pr, 1987) by Tran-Khanh-Tuyet also provides a forceful glimpse of the Vietnam War from a child's perspective. Pleasing pencil sketches, many full-page, make the book more accessible to those just beginning chapter books. --Phyllis G. Sidorsky, National Cathedral School, Washington, DC
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.