Tea with Milk by Allen Say

Image retrieved from www.amazon.com

1. Bibliography

Say, Allen. Tea with Milk. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999. ISBN 0395904951

2. Plot Summary

In this children’s book, Allen Say tells the sweet story of how his parents met and married. Masako, or May, grew up in America near San Francisco. Her parents spoke to her in Japanese and called her Masako, but everyone else spoke to her in English and called her May. After she graduated from high school, her parents decided to return to Japan, where May had to attend high school all over again. She was lonely in Japan and other students laughed at her and called her a foreigner. When May’s parents hired a matchmaker and tried to marry her off to a banker, she ran away to Osaka, Japan, and eventually gained a job as a store’s guide for foreign businessmen. It was through this job that May met Joseph, who spoke English and became an instant friend to her. When Joseph’s job transferred him, May went with him so they could marry and make a home together.

3. Critical Analysis

In Tea with Milk, Allen Say explores the theme of immigration. In this story, May is born in America to Japanese immigrants. She grows up as a member of the 1.5 generation. America is the only home she knows, and she fully adopts American culture. However, her parents are homesick because America is not home to them. When they return to Japan, May is lonely and a foreigner in a place that should be familiar. She thinks, “I’m a foreigner in my parents’ country … And they came back here because they didn’t want to be foreigners.” Say communicates the irony of May’s situation to the audience clearly, creating empathy for May and so many other immigrants who have felt like her or her parents.

Say also brings to light some of the cultural differences between America and Japan in this story. May is born in America, and she fully embraces American culture. However, when she is home, she lives in Japanese culture. Say compares the two by explaining how May’s life is different at home compared to outside of her home. “Her parents called her Ma-chan, which was short for Masako, and spoke to her in Japanese. Everyone else called her May and talked with her in English.” He also explains, “At home she had rice and miso soup and plain green tea for breakfast. At her friends’ houses she ate pancakes and muffins and drank tea with milk and sugar.” This explanation gives the audience a glimpse into the differences in food and culture of Japan and America.

Throughout the story, when May is living in Japan, she is unable to let go of her American culture. When she finds out that her parents have hired a matchmaker, she is disgusted. The next morning, she puts on a dress she bought in California and takes a bus to the train station so she can travel to the city. She says, “I should leave home and live on my own, like an American daughter.” It is in the city, Osaka, that she is most at home because the city is similar to the city where she lived in California.

Say uses tea with milk as a symbol of English-speaking tradition. When May and Joseph meet for tea, Joseph has his tea with milk. This symbol draws May to him, showing her that they have more in common than being Japanese English speakers. In the end, May realizes that home isn’t a place like America, but it is a place you make for yourself. She and Joseph decide to make that place for themselves, together. On the final page, we find out that May and Joseph were Allen Say’s parents.

Say uses simple illustrations to tell a detailed story. In the first image, May is a young girl, wearing a typical American dress and standing below an American flag. In the next image she is wearing a kimono and looks incredibly sad and discontent. The expressions on May’s face throughout the story alone tell her story from beginning to end. She is sad during her early days in Japan, but when she moves to Osaka, begins working, and meets Joseph, her expressions change to happiness and contentment. Say draws her wearing American clothing except when she is required to wear a kimono for work. On the final page, in an illustration of a portrait of Joseph and May, the expression on both of their faces looks as though they could not be any happier than to have made their home together.

4. Review Excerpts

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (May 1, 1999): "This is a thoughtful and poignant book that will appeal to a wide range of readers, particularly our nation's many immigrants who grapple with some of the same challenges as May and Joseph, including feeling at home in a place that is not their own."

From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (March 8, 1999): "Say's masterfully executed watercolors tell as much of this story about a young woman's challenging transition from America to Japan as his eloquent, economical prose."

5. Connections

Gather other books written and illustrated by Allen Say such as:

• Grandfather’s Journey. ISBN 978-0547076805
• Drawing from Memory. ISBN 978-0545176866

Read this short biography of Allen Say and watch the brief interview with him as an introduction to a lesson including his picture books: http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/say

Have students read Tea with Milk and then write about how they would feel if their parents told them today that they would be moving to Japan. How can they relate to May? How will their lives be different?