Worthy The brave and capable life of Joseph Pierce

Enslaved as a child to a white American sea captain, a Chinese youth seeking to prove himself "worthy" must eventually grapple with whether "America was worthy of him" in this extended picture book biography from Wang (Watercress). Though his name has been lost to history, the boy (1842--1916), called Joe by the captain and crew, is taken from Canton, China, aboard a ship transporting enslaved Chinese men to sugar plantations in Cuba. On the ship, Joe learns to cook, delivers messages, and "tried to prove that he could do more than cut sugarcane." Upon landing, the captain takes Joe home to his Connecticut farm, where the boy is renamed Joseph Pierce and "almost" treated like a member of the family. He attends school and labors on the farm before enlisting to fight in the Civil War, seeking to both "prove his worth" and become a U.S. citizen. In sweeping landscapes and visually detailed group scenes, debut illustrator Vang's digitally finished acrylic paintings vividly re-create the time period in this history of a man facing "hardship with courage, integrity, and dignity"--a work that recognizes each person's inherent worth. Back matter includes a timeline and author's note. Ages 4--8. Author's agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary. (Aug.)

What makes someone worthy? Newbery Honor--winning author Wang answers that question with her biography of Joseph Pierce, a Chinese man who was forced to prove his worth over and over. Born in southern China in 1840 (his real name and exact place of birth have since been lost to history), he was sold into slavery at age 10 to an American ship captain named Amos Peck and loaded onto a vessel, along with 200 other prisoners, bound for the sugar plantations of Cuba. But after "Joe," as he was named, proved himself useful as a cabin boy, Captain Peck brought him home to Connecticut; there, he lived with the Peck family, who renamed him Joseph Pierce. Facing racism over the years, he enlisted in the Union Army (as the only Chinese soldier in his regiment), rose to the rank of corporal, became an American citizen, married a white woman, and had three children. To remain safe as white Americans mounted attacks on Chinese residents after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, he pretended to be Japanese. The accumulation of these demeaning injustices--even after all he had accomplished--will push readers to ask a new question: Was America worthy of Joseph? Vang's handsomely rendered acrylic paintings offer solemnly realistic depictions of Joseph's life, while Wang's text combines artfully crafted prose and historical quotes to juxtapose the dignity of the individual against the racism of his era. A thought-provoking account of courage and integrity in the face of discrimination. (timeline, author's note, bibliography, citations)(Picture-book biography. 6-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.