‘Raggedy Chan’ by Camille Picott

Maintaining your own heritage in a world where consumerism and conformity to the sine qua non rules of a dominant society is not at all that easy, especially when you are just a kid. In Raggedy Chan, a modern fairy tale written by Camille Picott (Pixiu Press, 2011), we meet Raggedy Chan, a beautiful Chinese princess who has to adapt to a new society and assimilate a new culture so that she can fulfill her mission and her duty.

Just like in Nine-Tail Fox, the author chooses to tell a story within a story, successfully combining fantasy with children’s storytelling. Emma Chan-McDougal, a young American girl of Chinese origins, is left in the care of her kind auntie, a Chinese immigrant, while her mother is out. But, Auntie Gracie comes for her babysitting prepared. She brings along an old doll called Raggedy Chan and, in a matter of minutes, has Emma interested in the story behind the doll.

Yao-chi, the youngest daughter of Queen Mother, lives a happy life in the spired Jasper Palace of her native Kunlun. She is a great beauty, “with skin smooth as jade and hair shiny as the night.” But soon, the world she knows comes to a stop as a great curse befalls Kunlun when Drought Fury steals Winged Dragon, bringer of rain.

To save her homeland, Yao-chi crosses the sea to America, where Drought Fury is showing the dragon at a circus. But, once there, the Chinese princess faces all the hardships Chinese immigrants faced in the mid 1800s, from having to learn a new language to being discriminated against for looking “different.” In order to fulfill her mission, Yao-chi has to undergo major transformations, thus becoming… Raggedy Chan.

The book ends with a Postscript in which Camille Picott details the hardships of Chinese immigrants who poured into the United States in early 19^th century, giving touching examples from her own family history. She concludes that “all immigrants [regardless of country of origin] face the perpetual changes of alienation and assimilation when coming to a new land.”

Moving back and forth, from Emma’s house to the enchanted isle of Kunlun, young readers of Raggedy Chan are taken on an adventure while, at the same time, Aunt Gracie’s life lessons make the reading both entertaining and educational.

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.