Written by: Livia Blackburne
Illustrated by: Julia Kuo
Reviewed by: Erin Healy

I Dream of Popo is a story of a little Taiwanese girl who is very close with her grandmother (Popo). One day the girl’s family moves to The United States while her Popo stays in Tawian. The girl and her grandma keep their relationship close, even though slowly the girl cannot speak as much Chinese as English starts to become her primarily use language and it becomes more challenging to communicate through their phone conversations and video calls. The girl goes back to Taiwan to visit many times and things continue to change and feel different, they both get older and their cultural differences expand, but their love remains as strong as ever. When back in the US she dreams of her Popo and life in Taiwan. She both enjoys her new life and new friends, and misses the way things used to be. This bittersweet story is a familiar one to those who have left their home countries in pursuit of new opportunities, Blackburne’s writing points out the complexity of the situation in a truly beautiful and nuanced way, accompanied by the enchanting imagery by Julia Kuo, which hold little details and surprises that can be seen by an observant reader.

In this interview with the author, Blackburne highlights the fact that herself (the author), the illustrator, and the editor are all Taiwanese American.  She states how important it is in portraying the story in the most authentic way possible. After the spread of Asian hate due to prejudice around Covid, it is dire to have a wide variety positive AAPI representations discussed and celebrated in the classroom. I think this story would be best in the lower elementary grades. It could be used to talk about immigration, families individual cultures, Taiwanese culture specifically, and the generational divide that occurs when younger generations adopt a new language and culture. These are important conversations to have with little kids, many of whom may be experiencing something similar and unsure about understanding their feelings on the difficult situation. It also touches on topic of aging, as grandma gets older we see her get white hair, and become more frail. Watching the ones we love get older can also be emotional and difficult, this story can set the stage for these kinds of conversations as well. It is impossible to read this book and not have a deep sense of empathy for what the girl and Popo are going through, for these reasons it is a lower elementary classroom must have! The author puts it best herself, “when people read this book it will make them think of their families, to think of the things that keep us apart, and also the power of love to bind all of us together.” 

Livia Blackburne also created an activity kit to go along with the book, which I have linked here.

I have also provided a read aloud by Olivia Xie, a little girl who is also Asian American! Use it as a way to check your pronunciation or (even better) show the video and let your student’s enjoy hearing someone their age and whose culture is being represented in the story, tell it!