My Name Is Kofi: Coming to America from Nigeria-1976 Book

I am 42-years-old in 2020 and I still enjoy re-reading this for three reasons. First the character, Ivy is not just an underdeveloped sidekick to European American Julie. Second, the minor characters that include Ivy's brother are not overcompensating stereotype breakers. Instead the characters are realistic with just the right amount of tension. For example, Ivy's mom is returning to law school and a bit stressed transitioning into a new career. Ivy's bro is depicted as handsome and sought after by his classmates for romantic attention (way way before Crazy Rich Asians and talks about Asian Male attractiveness etc). Yet he does in fact idolize Bruce Lee with all the tension that brings. Lastly, the character journey is realistic. Ivy is under an enormous amount of pressure for a kid living in two plus cultures. That is a balancing act even for grown up East Asian Americans. Despite the parents progressiveness regarding Ivy's mom's second career, Ivy is forced to choose allegiances that are silly yet serious. Feelings will be hurt no matter what she chooses. Thankfully, Ivy's grandparents are her allies. When her parents go Pan Asian about food, Ivy's grandparents who actually own a Chinese eatery go with Ivy to grab some heart attack burgers and fries to demonstrate that sometimes grownups overreact. There's not one way to be Chinese American and Lisa Yee does a super job using more than a chocolate chunk almond cookie recipe to show that multiple times and in multiple ways. I will always appreciate Pleasant Company American Girls, though they are not perfect. In 1999, in college I wrote an appeal the company to make a Chinese American doll part of the official American Girl Doll canon. I received a personalized letter from Pleasant Company telling me that they read about my second grade memoir of racism where I was told that I was un-American and to sit down when all Americans were told to stand. I am still waiting for Ivy or the next generation of American Girl Dolls to have an East Asian main character as canon.