Friends of the Chinatown Library
New Books

Mei Ling in China City

                            Written by Icy Smith and Illustrated by Gayle Garner Roski

Icy Smith has written a true story of events during World War II in Los Angeles China City.  Mei Ling is a 12-year old Chinese American girl who loses her best friend, Yayeko Akiyama, when she and her family are interned in the Manzanar War Relocation Center.  By writing letters to each other, both young girls recount their painful separation and their lives in China City and in the Manzanar Center.  The vivid water paintings by Gayle Roski warmly portray the real scenes of the forgotten China City in Los Angeles and Manzanar.  This unprecedented children's book depicts the hardships and cross-cultural experiences of Americans of Chinese and Japanese ancestry during the war years.  Close to 50 never-before-published paintings and historical photographs of China City are presented for the first time.

On Monday, January 28, 2008, the Friends will celebrate the publication of this unprecedented children's book.  For more information, click on Events.

Chinese New Year 2008 Animal Sign

People born in the Year of the Rat normally do not like to be associated with this pesky rodent.  But, they are actually in very good company.  People born in the Year of the Rat include such notable writers and musicians as William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Leo Tolstoy, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.  These four people probably would also dislike being associated with the rat, but sharing the same animal sign with these famous people, no matter which animal, would be considered a positive asset. 

Characteristics of the Rat personality are creatively recorded by Theodora Lau in her book, The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes, Harper Collins Publishers, 2000.  "The rat personality is very charming and intelligent.  The rat person is disarmingly honest, hard working, and thrifty.  He/she will not pass up opportunities to make money and he/she has a tough time passing up bargains.  Rat people are very social and love to attend parties."   They love delicious food! 

The rat personality "has the ability to cope with difficulties and is at his/her best during a crisis.  Levelheaded and alert, he/she possesses keen intuition and foresight.  Adversity merely serves to sharpen his/her wits . . . he/she thrives on challenges."  In careers, rat people would make good business entrepreneurs, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.  They tend to be good writers because they keep track of details.  Rat people are also deeply attached to their homes and family and are generous to their loved ones.

To read more about Theodora Lau's interpretations of the personality of each of the 12 animals in the lunar zodiac, check out The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes from the Chinatown Library. 

New Books in Memory of Judge Delbert Wong

Delbert Earl Wong, the First Chinese American Judge, passed away on March 10, 2006.  He was a distinguished jurist, decorated veteran, community leader, and a founding member of the Friends of the Chinatown Library.  Delbert Wong grew up in Bakersfield, CA where he experienced racial discrimination first-hand as a child.  Later, he attended UC Berkeley, where he met his future wife, Dolores, who is currently serving on the Friends Advisory Board. 

He served as a navigator during World War II in the Air Corps and completed thirty bombing missions.  Following the war, he studied law and graduated from Stanford School of Law.  He worked in various law positions becoming the first Chinese American Judge in 1959 when Governor Brown appointed Judge Wong to the Municipal Court.  Later he was appointed to the Superior Court where he served until 1982, when he retired from the bench.

Upon his retirement, Judge Wong was still active as a private arbitrator and assumed leadership roles in numerous civic organizations.  He will be greatly missed.  For more information on the life of Delbert Wong, please refer to the Gum Saan Journal published by the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California.  It is currently available for check-out at the Chinatown Library, ask for call number CHC 347.092 W 872 WO.

The Friends of the Chinatown Library has purchased the following new books in memory of Judge Delbert Wong:  Black's Law Dictionary (reference copy), Immigration Law, Guide to Wills and Estates, and Multicultural Law Enforcement.  They will be available for reading and/or check-out at the Chinatown Branch Library. 

The Organization of Chinese Americans-Greater Los Angeles Chapter (OCA-GLA) presented the 15th Annual Image Awards on Friday 29 September 2006 to honor Judge Delbert Wong (posthumously) and Mrs. Dolores Wong for Community Achievement and Northrop Grumman for Corporate Achievement.  To learn more about the OCA-GLA contact Clara Chiu at 213.250.9888 or click on www.oca-gla.org.  

MOY MOY & MR. FONG'S TOY SHOP (50 years later)

The Friends sponsored Ann Stalcup signing her new book on February 14, 2005 at the Chinatown Branch Public Library.   Ann Stalcup reviewed her new biography,  Leo Politi,  Artist of the Angels.  In her power-point presentation, she shared the influences and events that shaped Leo Politi's life and award winning literary works.

The highlight of the evening featured people in two of his books.   Moy Moy (1960) and Mr. Fong's Toy Shop (1978) were written and illustrated by Politi about the cultural life in Chinatown during the decades of the 50's through the 80's.  In attendance was Mary Yan Joe, who at age 4 was selected by Politi as the principal character Moy Moy.  Also present was Gim Fong of Fong's Gift shop whose father was characterized by Politi as the owner of Mr. Fong's Toy Shop.  Mary Joe, along with her brothers and mother, and Gim Fong with his family reminisced about their lives some 50 years ago when Politi was sketching children throughout Chinatown and at the festive Chinese New Year and Moon Festival celebrations.  Revisiting with these characters from Leo Politi's stories created a personal sense of longing and nostalgia for those simpler days of innocence and fun in Chinatown.  Both books are out-of-print, but the people he portrayed are very much alive, older and wiser. 

                                     WHO ATE MY SOCKS by Angi Ma Wong

"LOTS OF LOST SOCKS. . . where do they disappear to?  Discover the answer to an age-old mystery when you meet a monster with a ravenous appetite for everyone's favorite socks."

"This is a delightful rhyming tale of humor for children of all ages." 

To learn more about this new children's book and the author, click on Events. 

                                     Chinese Heritage Collection Documentaries

The Chinese Heritage Collection also consists of audio-visual items, such as cassette tapes, DVDs, and CDs in English, all located at the entrance to the Intex Chinese Heritage Collection.  There are currently 400 audio visual titles, including films starring Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.  There are also documentaries about Chinese American History such as "To Be Me Tony Quon", "Wong Sinsaang", and "Chinatown Two Step", the story of the Chinese Drum & Bugle Corp.  More recent documentaries on local Chinese American History are "East Adams Revisited" and "Courage and Contributions:  the Chinese in Ventura County".   They are all  available at the Chinatown Branch Library, click Library.