China & Taiwan
China
Mao and Me
By Chen Jiang Hong, Claudia Zoe Bedrick (Translator)
Mao and Me. Chen Jiang Hong. Translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick. Enchanted Lion Books, 2008. Originally published as Mao et moi in French by l’École des loisirs, in Paris, in 2008. ISBN 9781592700790. 96 p. (Ages 6-10). Picture book.
Though born and educated in China, artist Chen Jiang Hong has lived in Paris since 1987. Mao and Me is his first autobiographical picture book about his childhood during Cultural Revolution-era China. In a realistic style, Chen narrates his experiences growing up, as the cataclysmic events of the era rain hardship down on his family and neighbors. All the while, however, he retains a child’s view of Mao, and perhaps even some lingering affection for him. [cr/dj]