‘Nine-Tail Fox’ by Camille Picott

Being called “Dim Sum,” “Rice Girl,” or “squint” when you are a fifth grade kid just because you are of Asian heritage can’t be easy. But that’s exactly what happens to Emma Chan-McDougal, who is constantly bullied by her classmates for the simple fact that she just looks non-Caucasian.

How can a kid that age deal with this kind of prejudice and racism? But, most importantly, how can you make the “bad kids” realize that you’re just as human as they are and that race should not be a factor separating us.

In Nine-Tail Fox (Pixiu Press, 2011), Camille Picott, a fifth-generation Chinese American writer with a love for science fiction and fantasy, tries to answer these two pressing questions. To do that, she employs the thousand-years old Chinese tradition of having a message put across through the medium of a fable.

When Emma complains to her auntie that she can’t take the bullying anymore, the wise aunt tells her the tale of Ainu, a young nine-tail fox who is faced with the dangerous task of fighting the evil Chih Yu upon her arrival to San Francisco. Think Animals Farm with fantastic animals and an Asian twist, and that’s exactly what you’ll get from Picott’s Nine-Tail Fox.

Like all fables, there’s a lesson to be learned and both Ainu and Emma realize that “truth” is a much more powerful weapon than any armed mob or mean schoolgirls. That is because Evil feeds on Lies and only Truth can overcome it. The author succeeds in making her point come across well and, at the same time, is able to keep its young readers glued to the pages of the book.

Will Ainu outrun the mob of badgers who are heading towards Chinatown to drive back to China all the animals living there? Will Ainu be able to outsmart Chih Yu and protect her fellow animals? Will Emma be able to stand up for herself and teach the bullies a lesson they will never forget? Will Emma be able to show her classmates that, in truth, we’re all the same?

I think Camille Picott successfully answers these questions but it rests with the readers to find out how. Nine-Tail Fox is a tale full of adventures with a few life lessons that the young ones will find both exciting and useful as they grow up to become global citizens.

The books ends with a postscript in which the author details the way her family history influenced her writing and how injustice can only lead to the suffering of those in minority. Camille Picott has written several other books for children in which she brings aspects of Eastern myth, legend, and culture, among which we can mention Raggedy Chan, another Chinese heritage tale featuring Emma and her auntie.

You can keep in touch with the author via her website, Facebook page, Twitter, YouTube channel or Goodreads page.

Camille will be awarding an autographed Raggedy Chan bookmark to every commenter; a Chinese Heritage Tale illustration signed by the author and illustrator to two randomly drawn commenters during the tour, and a grand prize of a Limited Edition Raggedy Chan Doll to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.