Title: Peanut Butter Friends in a Chop Suey World
Author: Deb Brammer
Major Themes: Taiwan, China, Missionaries, Culture
Synopsis: When Amy moved with her family from Wyoming to Taiwan, she wanted to be a good missionary—but it was much harder than she thought it would be.
About a year and a half ago, I somehow got in contact with an American woman who had lived in New Zealand for some time and wrote a couple of books based on her experiences. I found out at that time that she had also written some books for children. Then, not too long ago, I noticed one of those books on the shelves when I was at a friend’s house. I borrowed Peanut Butter Friends in a Chop Suey world, and my children and I enjoyed reading it together.
Publisher’s description:
When Amy’s family moves to Taiwan to begin missionary work, she is determined to be a good missionary. But the neighborhood girls laugh at her, and Sunday services at the Chinese church become an ordeal. It seems that the only place she feels comfortable is at the English-speaking school with her peanut butter friends. In this middle-grade book, Amy struggles to trust God as she learns how to live with new people and understand a different language.
My thoughts:
I appreciated this book. Deb Brammer wrote it from her own experiences, as an American who went to Taiwan to serve as a missionary for several years before moving to New Zealand. I have never lived in a country so different from my home country as Amy and her family did, but there was a lot I could relate to in getting familiar with a new country, new foods, and new language—we moved to an English-speaking country, but the way English was spoken took a long time to adjust to, and a lot of words are used differently!
Peanut Butter Friends in a Chop Suey World sparked a lot of discussion as we read it together. Amy spent a lot of time feeling sorry for herself and trying to recreate the American world she was used to. We talked about what she was doing wrong and what she should change. This book has a lot to share about friendship and what it should look like. Deb Brammer has done well at showing the adjustments missionary kids have to make when they move to a new country, and illustrating right and wrong attitudes towards people different from ourselves.
WARNING: Chapter 16: a dog is butchered.
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 8 – 12, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 7 – 9, 8 – 12
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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