Hannah is My Name

A young girl and her family immigrate from Taiwan to San Francisco in the 1960s. Upon arrival, the girl adopts the American name Hannah while navigating life in a new country. The family faces the challenges of securing green cards and finding work in their adopted homeland. Hannah attends school and learns English as her parents take whatever jobs they can find while waiting for their documentation. Life between two cultures forms the heart of this story, which captures a child's perspective on the immigrant experience in America. The narrative speaks to universal themes of belonging, identity, and the pursuit of a better life.

Readers connect with this immigration story's authenticity and emotional resonance. The book resonates with both children and adults who have experienced moving to a new country. Readers appreciate: - The detailed illustrations that capture 1960s San Francisco - How it handles complex topics in a child-accessible way - The parallel Chinese/English names showing cultural identity - The portrayal of parent-child dynamics during immigration Critical feedback mentions: - Some find the narrative pacing uneven - A few note the text is too advanced for youngest readers - Limited character development beyond Hannah/Na-Li Ratings across platforms: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (248 ratings) Amazon: 4.7/5 (21 ratings) "The illustrations brought me right back to Chinatown in the '60s," noted one Amazon reviewer. A teacher on Goodreads shared: "My ESL students saw their own experiences reflected in Hannah's story." The book appears on multiple school reading lists and received the IRA Children's Book Award.

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🌟 Author Belle Yang based this story on her own family's immigration experience from Taiwan to San Francisco in the 1960s 🌎 The book highlights the challenging process of obtaining "green cards," which weren't actually green when they were first issued in 1940—they were beige 🏙️ San Francisco's Chinatown, where the story is set, is the largest Chinese enclave outside of Asia and the oldest Chinatown in North America 📝 The protagonist's name change from Hannah to Na-Li reflects a common practice among Asian immigrants who adopted Western names to better assimilate into American culture 🗽 The time period depicted in the book (1960s) coincided with major U.S. immigration reform, specifically the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which eliminated previous quota systems