Brave Mrs. Sato By Lori Matsukawa Illustrated by Tammy Yee Published by Chin Music Press, Inc. What a lovely story! This simple, accessible story introduces readers to an elderly woman, Mrs. Sato, who takes care of Cathy after school in Hawaii. Already, the story will draw readers in, since so many children have caretakers who are not quite family, but special to them all the same. The pastel, big-headed illustrations will remind readers of many television cartoons, again drawing them into the book. After a few pages of getting to know Mrs. Sato from the eyes of Cathy, who loves her clean home and her delicious cooking, we begin to hear about Mrs. Sato's history as a picture bride. The illustrations fade to sepia tones, making it clear which pages are about Mrs. Sato's history as a young woman, and which take place in the "current" day (possibly 1960s?) when Cathy is a young girl. The book gently introduces readers to Japanese flower arranging, cuisine, Buddhism, a
Book review of The Angel of Santo Tomas: The Story of Fe del Mundo Written and illustrated by Tammy Yee Published by Tumblehome Books This picture book biography of 20th century Filipina pediatrician Fe del Mundo tells an inspiring true story about a person young readers will be able to relate to, as opposed to a story about someone adults will recognize. Fe del Mundo begins the book as a young girl in mourning for an older sister, deciding to take her sister's dream of becoming a doctor as her own, in memory of and honor of her sister. She excels at her studies and later immigrates to the United States, becoming the first woman and first person of Asian descent to attend Harvard. She leaves the US during World War II to return to the Philippines, where she invents an incubator and convinces authorities to move orphan children out of a prison camp into a home where she can care for them. After the war, she opens the first pediatric hospital in the country. The book includes a map,