Going Home, Coming Home

By Truong Tran

Book Overview

Bilingual English/Vietnamese. This summer, Ami Chi is taking a trip to far off Vietnam, where the streets are crowded with zipping scooters and fruit is shaped like dragons and stars.

To her parents, Vietnam is still home-a home they haven't seen since they left during the war. But all this talk of going back home leaves Ami Chi confused. How can you go back home to a place you've never been?

Ami Chi finds her answer in the rolling green rice paddies that blanket the countryside, in the bustling Cho Lon market, and in the quiet rooms of her grandmother's house. Vietnam may be nothing like America, but some things-like the help of a new friend-make this strange place feel familiar. Before long, Ami Chi finds that sometimes, you can travel farther than you ever thought possible and still find yourself at home.

Poet Truong Tran uses delicate, lyrical prose to craft this tender story of leaving and finding places that make up who we are. Ann Phong's lush paintings complete this unforgettable journey with vibrant color and loving detail.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 089239238X
• ISBN13: 9780892392384
• Release Date: August 1970
• Publisher: Lee & Low Books, Incorporated
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 7.9" x 9.6"
• Age Range: 6 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 5

Customer Reviews

Good Book

I am a Vietnamese American, born in Saigon but raised in the States. I still speak Vietnamese at home, and would like to teach the language to our daughter. My husband is Caucasian, so we are trying to teach our daughter both English and Vietnamese. This book is a good start to that teaching however; we were taught very formal and polite Vietnamese growing up. Some of the terms used in this book, I found, were a bit rough around the edges. For example, referring to a little girl as "Toi" as opposed to "Em", I didn't care for too much. Other than the minor semantics, I found this book to be enjoyable and reflective of our visit to Vietnam.

The true meaning of "home" in more than one location

Going Home, Coming Home is a bilingual English/Vietnamese storybook by Truong Tran about a family visiting Vietnam. The mother and father had to leave their home during the Vietnam War, but their young daughter has no memories of Vietnam and struggles to understand what it means to have a home one has never before visited. Ann Phong's warm and colorful illustrations embellish this thoughtful tale of making new friends, learning new ways of doing things, and embracing the true meaning of "home" in more than one location.