Happy Birthday Mr. Kang

By Susan L. Roth

In this family story set in New York's Chinatown, Mr. Kang and his grandson Sam set their caged bird free and learn that choosing one's own cage is a form of freedom. At his 70th birthday party, Mr. Kang announces that he's retiring from 43 years as a restaurant cook. He has three wishes for his retirement: to have a Hua Mei, a type of bird that Chinese men traditionally keep as pets; to paint poems (in

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0792277236
• ISBN13: 9780792277231
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: National Geographic Kids
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.1" x 6.0"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

i know why the caged bird sings?

This unique book of text passages in a "cutout font" over illustrated collages is dedicated to the author's uncle, John Kang, and based on a New York Times article from June 1994. Mr Kang is having his 70th birthday party in New York City's Chinatown. There with his friends, family, and grandson, he makes three wishes: To read The New York Times every morning, to paint a poem each day, and to have his own caged hua mei bird, which will go with him every Sunday to Sara Delano Roosevelt Park. As the reader continues through the book, its story, poems, and its collages (one of a background of Chinese menus, another of alters, another of NYT newsprint, one of SDR Park), Sam is met. Sam, Mr Kang's grandson, comes to visit his grandparents for the weekend. On Sunday, he, his grandfather, the hua mei bird, and a warm cake from his grandmother make their way after dawn to the park. Soon there are 27 other caged bird there waiting to sing. Sam wonders whether it is right to keep the bird caged, just like grandpa was caged to his work before retirement. Will grandpa let the bird fly free? What do grandma and the retired men think? What does the hua mei bird desire? Read and discover.