My Day With Gong Gong

Intergenerational Understanding: A Review of My Day with Gong Gong
Written by Sennah Yee and illustrated by Elaine Chen
Published by Annick Press
Available September 8, 2020
Ages 3-6

May, a young girl, spends the day with her grandfather. At first, she feels shy and later bored, until her grandfather takes her to Chinatown. As they make their way through the city, May cannot always understand her Gong Gong. May does not understand Cantonese, and Gong Gong does not speak that much English. Gong Gong takes May on errands and into shops, and sometimes it seems like Gong Gong’s friends are laughing at her. She does not understand and gets frustrated. She is also hungry. It turns out, though, Gong Gong does understand her: he gives her pork buns when she is hungry, and he surprises her with the stuffed monkey she saw in a gift shop.

Sennah Yee captures intergenerational love and understanding with this new picture book. Illustrator Elaine Chen’s colorful drawings show off May’s full range of emotions and normalizes the frustration and confusion that can often come when a young child is out of their comfort zone. Chen’s pictures feature close ups of May’s face, and as the book evolves, May and her grandfather’s faces turn towards each other, not away. The watercolor illustrations are bright and airy, detailing everything from a living room to the streets of Chinatown. Some of Yee’s best writing comes in situational comedy–May gets pooped on by a pigeon, and the tears flow quickly. Her grandfather comes to her aid, and the tearful expressions soon turn joyful. At the beginning of the book, May was suspicious of the new faces and phrases in Cantonese that she did not understand; by the end of the book, May is more confident and can exclaim, “Nei hou” as well as say “doh je” in thanks for some delicious food. The picture book’s ending has a list of Cantonese phrases May and her grandfather used during their day together.

May is spending the day with her grandpa Gong Gong he only speaks Chinese and she only speaks English. May is sure the day will be long and difficult. But they go on quite the adventure throughout Chinatown. This was an interesting book.

We absolutely loved this book!! Especially the Cantonese translation in the back to help sound out the Chinese words. The story is heartwarming for grandkids to connect with their grandpas. Definitely there is generation gap and this book helps kids to be open and patient for new experiences. Highly recommend it to story time, bed time, and kids 3-6.

Absolutely charming! From the quietly observant grandpa, to the adorably impatient little girl, to the many friendly neighbours, and the very cute drawings, everything was charming! Seems like a typical day out with a grandparent, Chinese style.

I was drawn to this title because of my own Chinese ancestry. Gong Gong’s Chinese phrases and the scenes around Chinatown were immediately familiar. But I think that this story’s message of being able to bridge a double-generation gap through food, caring and love will resonate within immigrant families of all ethnicities. I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy.

This is such a sweet, endearing story of a granddaughter and grandpa spending the day together. The pictures are colorful, the words are easy to read. I’ve read this a few times to my twin toddlers. Thanks to Annick Press and NetGalley for an ebook ARC. This is my honest review.

My Day with Gong Gong by Sennah Yee is the beautifully illustrated story of a little girl named May, her Chinese grandfather, and a day spent together in Chinatown. The generational divide, added to a language barrier, makes for an initially challenging day, but through love and patience, May soon realizes that her grandfather understands her better than she thinks. This is a lovely multi-generational story that speaks to a familial love that transcends boundaries. I particularly enjoyed the glossary of Cantonese words that is included at the end of the book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Annick Press Ltd. for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This is a sweet story of a little girl who doesn't know Chinese, and yet has to spend the day with her Gong Gong (her Chinese Grandfather on her Mother's side).

May thinks that her grandfather doesn't understand her, as they go through is errands, and hang out with his friends, but she picks up enough Chinese, in the end, to communicate just fine. And her grandfather shows that he does understand her as well.

Readers can pick up, through context, what some of the simple words in Chinese are, but if not, there is a small glossary in the back.

The pictures of Chinatown are sweet, as are the pictures of the interchange between May and her grandfather.

A delightful book. And although I've said it many times before, representation matters. There are many third generation children out there who never learned the language of their grandparents and feel as though they can't communicate.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.