Heidi Hauser Green (Children's Literature)
Eleven-year-old Xiao Mei has been invited to visit Shanghai. The trip is a big deal; it is expensive, and only one ticket can be afforded. Xiao Mei will have the chance to meet family she has never known. Still, she is nervous about the trip. After all, what will people in Shanghai think of her? She is only half-Chinese and does not know the language. Xiao Mei wonders if, perhaps, she should not go. But after her grandmother, Nai Nai, draws their family tree, the girl’s hesitation disappears. Nai Nai herself has not seen her family since leaving Shanghai decades ago; Xiao Mei must go, so that she can share the experience with her grandmother when she returns. Shanghai is very different from home, but Xiao Mei is supported by the love of her extended family. She adjusts to the differences and comes to revel in every moment, from morning tai chai in the park and rainy day laundry errands to marketplace shopping and making won tons. Love and family bonds span the ocean in this tender tale of exploration and devotion. 2005, Lee and Low, $17.95. Ages 4 to 10.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 15))
Half-Chinese Xiao Mei (May in English) is 11, going alone from Ohio to visit her extended family in Shanghai. In vivid poems, almost iridescent in their clarity of feeling, May wonders if people in China will stare at her green-flecked eyes; sees what her great-grandfather carved in stone in Suzhou Gardens; buys a live duck for lunch in the marketplace. The fear of being so far from the familiar and the ache of a loving but very different set of relatives are exquisitely delineated, no more so than in Young's beautiful illustrations. Each page is laid out with borders and centerpieces of a red Chinese grillwork pattern in perfect geometry; while soft-edged, brilliantly colored vignettes of May learning t'ai chi, riding on a moped to take laundry to dry, playing catch with a child and a red ball, illuminate every page. Some images catch at the heart-Auntie unwrapping a wonton to tuck the last speck of pork in before cooking, or May back in Ohio missing the shouting farmers outside her window in Shanghai. Wonderfully evocative. 2005, Lee & Low, 40p, $17.95. Category: Fiction/poetry. Ages 8 to 14. Starred Review. © 2005 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Kathleen McBroom (Library Media Connection, March 2006)
Eleven-year-old May is not sure that she wants to go all by herself to visit her extended family in China. She has a lot of concerns, such as looking only "half-Chinese," not speaking the language, having to get a lot of shots, and not being able to keep track of all her aunties and uncles. However, when her beloved grandmother asks her to go as her messenger, to look at and remember everything for her, May agrees to take the trip. Culture shock is immediate and overwhelming, but eventually May begins to sort out people and daily activities. All too soon it's time to return home. May comes back bearing meaningful gifts and many special memories for her grandmother. Each page features one slender column of text arranged in free-form poetry format. The outer page edges and inner gutters are decorated with traditional Chinese grid designs. Additional illustrations appear on every page, enhancing the storyline. This enticing presentation will attract leisure readers, and the book could be used to support units on family relationships, multicultural awareness, or regional studies. Recommended. 2005, Lee & Low Books, 40pp., $17.95. Ages 7 to 11.

Hope Morrison (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, January 2006 (Vol. 59, No. 5))
You are my messenger. Look everything. Remember,” instructs Xiao Mei’s grandmother as the young girl prepares to fly to China for the summer. Cheng’s sequence of free-verse poems offers a simple yet telling record of the many small glimpses Xiao Mei gets into the country of her ancestry as she follows Nai Nai’s directive. Each poem focuses on a specific moment or experience, and the child’s viewpoint is remarkably well conveyed; rather than offering prosaic descriptions, the poems offer a balance of simple description and the expected personal response of an eleven-year-old girl who has undertaken a big journey. Cheng effectively constructs Xiao Mei’s grandmother as both Xiao Mei’s link to China and as a fully developed character in her own right, and the tender relationship between Nai Nai and her granddaughter is evident in their interactions. Young’s mixed-media illustrations (pastel, ink, dye, charcoal, and crayon) offer visual interpretations of Xiao Mei’s experiences; each small composition is set in or around the text, and the careful smudging of the chosen medium subtly evokes Xiao Mei’s increasingly blurred cultural demarcations. A pronunciation/translation guide to Chinese terms (with some pronunciations a bit confusingly conveyed) is included. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2005, Lee & Low, 40p, $17.95. Grades 3-6.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2006)
Worried about traveling alone and self-conscious about being biracial, Chinese-American Xiao Mei isn't sure she wants to visit her relatives in China. This free-verse novel follows Xiao Mei's transformation from reticent tourist to comfortable Shanghai dweller. Details of daily life, Chinese words, and a pronunciation guide add to the text's authentic feel. Young's soft pastel illustrations complement Cheng's poetic images. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2005, Lee, 40pp, 17.95. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Virginia Bailey (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 18, No. 4))
Eleven-year-old Xiao Mei (Sheeow may) is honored but also afraid when she is invited to visit her uncle in China for the summer. She has never been to China, but it is her turn to go to meet her Chinese family. Her Nai Nai (grandmother) says she is to be her messenger to take messages to the family in China and bring back messages to her in America. Xiao Mei is afraid that the people there will stare since she is “half Chinese, half not.” She is also not sure she can fly “above the sea by myself.” This beautifully illustrated, free-verse story of a young girl getting acquainted with the Chinese half of her family will delight young readers. A guide to pronouncing names and other words in the story helps with the flow of the text. Xiao May “gathers up memories” of her family and of China to bring back to the rest of her family in California. This book is highly recommended for all school and public libraries as an excellent book to read aloud at story time. Fiction, Highly Recommended. Grades 4-6. 2005, Lee & Low Book, Unpaged., $17.95. Ages 9 to 12.