Milly Lee, illustrated by Yangsook Choi,
Earthquake
Distributed by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001.

Author Milly Lee shares a personal story of a young girl and her family dealing with the aftermath of the infamous San Francisco earthquake of 1906. On that nerve-wracking morning PoPo, BaBa and MaMa packed all the essentials, including ancestral pictures, and hurried their family into the chaotic streets. The girl, who is a young version of Lee's own mother, tells of their family's careful journey from Chinatown to safety at Golden Gate Park.

Experienced illustrator Yangsook Choi captures the depth of Lee's family memories through her beautifully painted imagery. With our recent earthquake here in western Washington and with predicted quakes to come, Earthquake is not only historical but can be informative. It is reassuring for children to understand that though natural disasters occur, cities and families are rebuilt and reborn.

Tanya Kim