Tofu Quilt was an autobiography about Ching when she was a little girl. We loved how the story was written in a collection of poems about her different experiences throughout her childhood. She focuses a lot about her culture and gives many good details throughout the entire book. This book is a wonderful book to incorporate in a classroom when talking about different cultures especially Chinese culture. Tofu Quilt is a book that is written by Ching Yeng Russell. A young girl who is being educated in Hong Kong tells the story. During this little girl’s life, she goes and visits her uncle. She loves spending time with him because he makes really good food. Her favorite dish is called ‘dan lai.’ “The young girl loves this meal so much that she doesn’t brush her teeth before she goes to bed” (Russell, 2009, p.12). The young girl enjoyed her time with her uncle, but eventually she had to go back to her home in Hong Kong. She began another school year. This young girl wasn’t like most girls. Most girls can only go to school till they reach middle school, but her mother really thought it was important for her to get a good education and go to school throughout middle school. This was rare because most girls don’t need a good education because they are only supposed to take care of the household. The young girl goes throughout school loving to write. She was told at one point that she was terrible at writing but then a couple years later a teacher told her that she was an incredible writer. Now that she is grown up, that is exactly what she does. She writes for a living and loves it. She enjoys what she does and she is so happy and thankful that her mom made her earn a good education. This book was very interesting to read and we would definitely recommend it The Tofu Quilt, by Ching Yeung Russell is a fascinating and quick read. This book has a very interesting style of writing to portray the story. It is filled with many poems. The plot is about a young girl who grows up in China in a male dominated society. She tries to find where she falls in the world, once she finds her love for writing she knows that writing is what she wants to become writer. This book is placed in the 1950s-1960s when China was more raw with the way women were treated, then it is today. This book also has a wonderful glossary with translations and explanations of traditions that crop up in the poems that we cant understand without speaking Chinese. This book has a strong feel of feminism and Chinese tradition. I thoroughly enjoyed this quick read and got a lot of understanding of the time period and what it may have been like for a young girl in China.
What do You think about The Tofu Quilt (2009)?
This protagonist in this novel would have been my mom, if she hadn't immigrated to the U.S.
—ericepuk
Great collection of small moments which influenced the author's life.
—Rosie
