Raggedy Chan by Camille Picott

Aunt Gracie teaches Emma about her Chinese heritage while telling her the story of her new doll – Raggedy Chan – who is really a Chinese princess on an adventure.

This is a beautiful story that made me feel as if Aunt Gracie was taking care of me! I love the idea of a Chinese cloth doll with black yarn hair and a red dress. I wanted to eat the wontons that Emma had for lunch and snuggle with them under a blanket to hear more of Raggedy Chan’s story.

The device of interspersing the story with the activities of Gracie and Emma did remind me of the movies The Princess Bride, and The Fall, but it also brought me back to my childhood, and the stories my sister would make up at night to help me fall asleep.

Raggedy Chan’s story of a Chinese princess who journeys to a far off land to save her people is magical, at times horrific, and is the perfect child’s version of an immigrant’s experience. I think this would make a fantastic animated movie.

What makes this book even nicer is that it is firmly based in the author’s Chinese roots. She provides a brief history of her family’s time in the United States, and reveals that there is a real Raggedy Chan doll, given to her as a child.

Children will enjoy this tale, but I think adults will get even more out of it.

I award Raggedy Chan…