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“The paper is soaked and i‘m half afraid and half hopeful…”

This book is very descriptive in its language which helps create great imagery and feeling that is greater than the pictures.

This book was published in 2021 and received the awards of the Caldecott Medal, The Newberry Honor, and The Picture Book Award Winner for the Asian-American Assoc. This book is an adventurous book that starts in Ohio but takes an entire new journey through food and culture to relate to Asian-American culture.

Watercress brings their family together after learning about the mother‘s hard and tragic past. This books reminds children to not be ashamed about their past but to embrace it.

The little girl wants to be like everyone else like buying food from a grocery store during dinner.

“Finally, we load everything, the soggy bag, my sopping shirt, are sodden selves, into the car and head home”

“The paper is soaked and I‘m half afraid and half hopeful.”

The words used in this book are very descriptive. The language used as well as the illustrations create lots of meaning and understanding and it makes this book special.

This book was published in 2021. Caldecott Award Winner. Newberry Honor. The Picture Book Award Winner for the Asian-American Assoc. This book is an adventurous book that starts in Ohio but takes an entire new journey through food and culture to relate to Asian-American culture.

“I shake my head. Free is bad. Free is hand-me0down clothes and roadside trash-heap furniture and now, dinner from a ditch.”

This is a great book for teaching about heritage and culture!

Caldecott Medal and Newberry Honor Winner
Published 2021
This is a touching story about Chinese heritage. I enjoyed that this story is told from the point of view of a young girl. Details like hiding from people she knows when practicing traditions are relatable to young minority children. It is important for children to see their cultures represented, as well as appreciate other cultures from their own.

“Together, we eat it all and make a new memory of watercress.”

This book is a great book when teaching diversity and culture. Some students may feel ashamed of their culture but there is always a story behind the meaning.

This book tells the story of a girl whose family pulls over to pick watercress on the side of the road. They take it home, clean it and prepare it for dinner. She feels ashamed of the meal until her mother shares the memories that come with watercress.

“I take a bite of the watercress and it bites me back with its spicy, peppery taste. It is delicate and slightly bitter, like mom's memories of home. Together we eat it all and make a new memory of watercress.“

The moment her mom showed her a picture of her grandparents who immigrated to the US from China. That was the moment she knew that her mother was trying to keep her families tradition alive of eating Watercress and picking it off the side of the road after all those years of eating it in China.

Watercress by Andrea Wang and illustrated by Jason Chin. This book was awarded the 2022 Caldecott Honor Award. This book is family friendly. It has a lot of cultural background that has a deep connection to the authors life growing up. This story is eye-opening to many readers who may not be familiar with families who immigrated here from other countries and are trying to hold on to their family traditions but also fit into the American society.

Mom never talks about her China family.

Watercress can be used in the classroom by helping make connections with students and their culture. It also could encourage students to share stories with and about their families.

Watercress is a picture book for children written by Andrea Wang and illustrated by Jason chin. Watercress was published in 2021 and won the Caldecott in 2022. It was a very moving story that touched on the power of sharing memories with family. The book was written very beautifully as well as the illustrations. The illustrations showed exactly how the main character felt. It was a picture book that students could relate to in the classroom.

“...and I am ashamed of being ashamed of my family,“

I‘m ashamed of being ashamed of my family.

This is a powerful story to show students to not be embarrassed about what other people think of their family traditions. It is also impactful to the students I work with now because it does not matter how much their food costs (in the story the girl was embarrassed that the watercress was free).

Watercress, 2021. A Caldecott Medal Winning Book. This is a powerful story about a mother sharing her heritage with her family and how it impacts her daughter. At first, her daughter is embarrassed about picking watercress off the side of the road. But once the mother shares how important watercress was in her past the daughter was upset with herself for being embarrassed.

This book is beautifully well drawn. I love that the drawings are done to be culturally respectful and pull in a little bit of tradition.

This book was really amazing and had a wonderful backstory. Although I‘m not of Asian decent, this story gives me just a glimpse into what other people of other cultures may be going thorough. This is something. That children will really appreciate.

This book is a cute book that teaches a very good message about culture and traditions. It shares a message of keeping an open mind.

“I was ashamed of being ashamed of my family.“

This book acted as a gentle reminder to me to always be proud of where I've came from and never be ashamed to express my values, despite them being different from those of the others around me. Because it is my values that make me unique and have contributed to the person I am today, and for that I should be proud.

This book is a nice lighthearted book that teaches about culture. It is not the most simple read but a very meaningful story.

““Watercress!“ They exclaim, two voices heavy with memories.“
I like this quote because it has a sort of foreshadowing effect happening. The parents have gone through very tough times so they are excited when they find food that they enjoy for free. the daughter doesn't understand why they would ever get their food from the side of the road until her mother explains her back story.

Published in 2021, receiving the Caldecott and Newbery Medals. This story illustrates the importance and power that comes from sharing memories, even those that are sometimes painful to recall. As well as the importance of recognizing our heritage and where we came from. Understanding that it has played such a large role in helping to shape us into the people in which we are today, even though it may be overlooked from time to time.

I really liked this book a lot. I made a connection with the fact that it was set in Ohio. As a kid I really liked hearing about things that I had in common with and living in Ohio they weren't that common. I feel like kids would be able to make connections with aspects of this book. But they also would be able to learn about differences such as immigration and racism.

This book was published in 2021 and won the Caldecott medal, the Newbury honor book, and the picture book award. This book is about a young girl who was with her family in Ohio when they found watercress in the ditch next to the road. The girl was embarrassed that her family found their dinner free on the side of the road; She refused to eat it. She changed her mind after her mom explained how her life in China used to be. They made a new memory.

Watercress by Andrea Wang and illustrated by Jason Chin was published in 2021. This book won the Caldecott Medal in 2022. Watercress is a story about the power of culture and heritage. This book focuses on a Chinese-American family and a young girl's understanding of her mother's memories from China. Overall, the book reflects on learning how to embrace one's heritage.

A beautifully illustrated story! A young girl is embarrassed by her Chinese immigrant parents who stop to gather watercress by the side of the road, and refuses to eat it. But when her mom shares the memory behind it, she begins to understand.

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This book is a winner of the Caldecott Medal and this was won in 2022. This book is about story of a little girl who is ashamed growing up of her history and way of life with her family and throughout the book. She learns to appreciate it!

Title: Watercress
Author: Andrea Wang
Illustrator: Jason Chin
Published: March 30, 2021
Genre: Children's literature, Fiction
Awards: Asian/Pacific American Award

Watercress by Andrea Wang and illustrated by Jason Chin was published on March 30th, 2021, and is a children's fictional story. This book won the Boston Glove Horn Award and is about a little girl who is initially ashamed when her immigrant parents stop the car to hunt for watercress by the side of the road until she learns more about her family's history in China.