Paper Son: Lee's Journey to America

Summary of Book

In 1926, 12-year-old Fu Lee lives with his grandparents in a small village in China. He lives with his grandparents because his parents are dead. It is a difficult life but made easier by the love Lee shares with his grandparents. But now Lee must leave all that he knows. Before his parents died, they spent all of their money buying a "paper son slot" for Lee to go to America. Being a "paper son" means pretending to be the son of a family already in America. If he goes, he will have the chance for a better life. But first he must pass the test at Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco. Only then will he be allowed to live with his new family. If Lee makes even a single mistake, he could be sent back to China. Lee knows his grandparents want a better life for him. He can't let them down.

Author Biographies

Helen Foster James: I'm a former educator serving as an elementary teacher, coordinator of library media services, elementary teacher, media specialist, and as a professor of children's literature. I received my doctorate in Educational Administration from Northern Arizona University. I recently received an award from the California Reading Association for my contribution to literacy. I'm a native San Diegan. My home is in Pacific Beach and I have a cabin in the San Diego mountains where I can hear coyotes serenade the moon. I enjoy watching raccoons, woodpeckers, wild turkey, deer, fox, and other wildlife outside my cabin's windows. When I'm not camping, hiking, and hanging out on Sail Bay in San Diego, you can find me reading, writing, watching movies, and planning my next travel adventure.

Virginia Shin-Mui Loh is a published author, university professor, and former K-8 school teacher. Her doctoral dissertation was a qualitative study on the cultural authenticity of Asian American children's literature.

Illustrator Biography

Wilson Ong grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and went to Brigham Young University, receiving a B.F.A in painting and drawing. He furthered his studies at the Art Students' League in New York City studying with nationally renowned figurative artists, Ted Seth Jacobs and Harvey Dinnerstein.