This novel is about a young girl named Shirley Temple Wong who must leave China after World War II to begin a new life with her mother and father in the United States. Shirley struggles to adjust to an American way of life while trying to also stay connected to her Chinese culture. She doesn't speak English very well, so she finds it hard to make any friends at her new school.
Have you ever been in a class when a new student arrived? Talk about how that new student was treated by you and the other kids. Maybe you have been a new student in a class and you understand how Shirley felt when she arrived at P.S. 8. If you have ever had to be the new student to a class, tell about how you were treated by the other kids.
