The Words We Share, by Jack Wong
A daughter becomes her father’s voice as they traverse through a foreign land as immigrants.
Angie, wants to help her dad, especially speaking on behalf on him translating from Chinese to English. Angie’s dad is a hard-working immigrant from China to Canada, and he struggles to communicate in English.

Thankfully, Angie picks up the language gradually as she goes to school. Angie helps translate for her dad at the grocery, restaurants or even writing signages in English. Very soon Angie realizes that she could use this English translation skill to help their immigrant friends and their families. Before long Angie starts writing signs in English at restaurants, stores and help immigrant businesses communicate to their customers.

Until, one day a small error lands her up in trouble. Will Angie be able to fix this problem by herself? To find out grab a copy of Words We Share, by Jack Wong, as the book elucidates the father daughter relationship and harnesses the strength of community and unison.

This is a really sweet story that covers several important topics. It's a great introduction to the concepts of multiculturalism and different languages. It also depicts a smart and ambitious girl who learns that, even though he doesn't know English, her dad can still surprise her with all the things he does know.

For starters, I love the multiple meanings of the English title. It highlights not only communication as a partnership; as someone who grew up in a multilingual household, "sharing words" also quite literally points to a common cultural and linguistic heritage (e.g., Angie and her father , Mr. Tang, with Cantonese; Mr. Tang and Mr. Chu with Hakka). I also appreciate Angie's eagerness to help out community members with similar language needs. While the situation with Mr. Chu is far from being completely devastating--indeed, it's easily resolved with help from Mr. Tang--it reminds me of the real-life challenges of asking children to serve as interpreters/translators. Then again, we all must do the best with the resources that we have.

The words we share is a touching story about a young girl who helps her dad by translating communication into English. This gives her the idea to offer her translation services to others in her community. The art is beautiful, and though I only got the chance to read a digital version, I can imagine the spreads will turn out even better in the physical book.

The story is one I imagine will relate to many while educating others about what it's like to be bilingual and act as a translator for family and others. At times, the narrative faltered, especially in the middle when the conflict was introduced. It seemed like the author, Jack Wong, wanted to explore the complex nature of this experience, but the limited format of a picture book didn't allow enough room for said complexity.

We have a lot of bilingual/trilingual families that come to our library. I could see patrons really relating to this book and loving it. Highly recommend!

This Book was soo cute! Definitely a great book for those young kids that end up acting as interpreters for their parents. I love the way Angie was so impressed when she was confused but her father understood. The graphics and having both the Chinese and English interpretations really helped to make the book. This would be awesome in a teacher's in-room library or as a gift for a kiddo that might see themselves in the main character's role. We need more books like this that help show support!

I love this story about a father and daughter team, who are Chinese immigrants making their way in English-speaking Vancouver, Canada. Angie, the daughter, is better at speaking English than her dad and other Asian adults in the community. She starts a business that involves writing out signs for Cantonese business owners who can't write in English. I loved Angie's friendliness and helpfulness to her father and all the business owners.

When Angie makes a mistake (or maybe the shop owner is mistakenly blaming her for a problem?), she feels lonely and like no one can help her. I appreciated this portrayal of emotion, which must be common for multicultural children who have the burden of translating for adults.

The ending of this book is beautiful and shows the connection between immigrants from similar backgrounds, I do wish there had been some more closure about the "mistake" that Angie had made.

The illustrations throughout this book were colorful and held my attention. I love that Asian children will be able to see themselves in these characters. Also, Chinese characters and translations are shown throughout the book, including in the title. Jack Wong as the author and illustrator of this book is truly a special voice. I will definitely be ordering this book for the Youth Collection at my library, and I might like to use it for StoryTime.

When Angie and her father move to Canada, neither of them speak much English. Her dad gets a job where not much talking is needed, while Angie picks up English in school. She is pleased to help her father when he does not know the necessary English words, even making signs that he needs at work. But when she offers to help neighborhood businesses, one of her signs causes trouble. Dad offers to help, but what can he do when he doesn't speak English well?

The illustrations show father and daughter in a swirl of new sounds as they arrive at the airport in Canada, as well as portraying the situations in which Angie helps out. She translates for her father when deliverymen come to the door, when they eat out, and when they shop. Chinese characters are used on some pages to show what her father says and to give readers a sense of how different English and Cantonese are. Angie points out the ups and downs of serving as her father's interpreter. She gets to order dessert when they eat out, but she also has to watch and make sure he doesn't buy pet shampoo by mistake!

Back matter explains a bit more about the languages used in the book. Readers may be surprised to learn that there are many dialects of Chinese such as Mandarin, Cantonese, and Hakka. They are all written using the same Chinese characters, but may sound very different from each other. The role reversal between Angie and her father is a situation that often occurs in families that move to a new country and speak a different language, which makes this a story with wide appeal.

A story with a loving father/daughter team, a humorous problem and solution, and plenty of room for discussion.

Many children will be able to relate to the Angie, the main character in the story! She and her dad move to an English-speaking country from China. Like so many students from other countries, Angie learns to speak English quickly at school, and is able to help her dad and her community through her translation services. A mistranslation due to dialect differences leads her to make an error, but her dad is able to help with the problem. Angie and her dad have a sweet, loving relationship with one another and it is incredible to see Angie's ability to use her bilingual skills to benefit her community. I read this picture book aloud to my third grade class, and they enjoyed listening to young Angie, who was able to help her community. They had a difficult time understanding how Angie made a mistake due to dialect differences, but with teacher explanation and examples, they were able to understand. I was able to do this during a class read-aloud, but students may have a hard time with the comprehension of this idea while reading the book independently.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was Angie Tang, the daughter of immigrants who had to grow up fast in order to help navigate the English-speaking world for my parents, although my parents were Cuban, not Cantonese. Angie translates for her father in many situations. Soon, she gets the idea to translate signs for the other Chinese in her neighborhood.

The title of this book in Cantonese translates as “The Same Heart in Different Languages.” What a lyrical title! I obviously adored this book, which should be a must for every public school library: Whatever language we speak, we’re more the same than not. Decades later, immigrant children are helping their families adapt to this new land.

In the further interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Annick Press in exchange for an honest review.

An endearing story about second generation immigrants helping their parents navigate a new language. It’s sweet, honest, and whimsical as it explores the importance and hardship of learning a new language in a new place.

This is a very relatable story that is not represented enough in children’s literature. It will connect with anyone who has had to help their parents get along in a new place and will show others who’ve never had to do that the reality for many families in this world.

A sweet read with the family!

I love that Wong sheds light on both the barriers and connections that language creates. The relationship between Angie and her father is sweet and the warmth and love and care they have for each other shines through.
I could see many ways that this book could be used in the classroom.

I received a dARC from the publisher via Netgalley; this is my honest review.

It's a lovely book about multilingualism, and using your gift and skills to help others. In a world where we have people speaking multiple languages and coming from different cultural backgrounds and identities, we need more books like this, that normalize switching between different languages, translating for family members, friends, or people in our community. Love it!

What a lovely book to share with my students on the struggles of growing up with parents who are not fluent in the language of the country.

Jack Wong's picture book, The Words We Share, is about the difficulty of switching between two languages and the bond between parents and kids. This sweet story is perfect for my class of diverse learners! I can't wait to get a copy. I recommend this book for readers in any grade but especially for classrooms with students from multilingual families.

Loved this story! This shows the importance of keeping touch with the languages we lose over the generations and I would love to see more books like this! Jack Wong brings to life a wonderful story to inspire. The nuance of language, the teamwork with her father, and the initiative of starting a little business all combine to provide inspiration for young people.

I really enjoyed reading this story, I have had so many students over the years that can relate to the characters in the book. Many students find themselves being the translator for their parents or other family members. The illustrations are engaging as well!

Entertaining, informative, inspiring, beautifully illustrated and thoroughly 'kid friendly' in presentation, 'The Words We Share"' is unequivocally and unreservedly recommended as a high priority addition to elementary school libraries and classrooms. This dual-language story with Chinese and English character, touches on the immigrant experiences with a focus on language and linguistics.

Thank you to Annick Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

Touching and uplifting. Serving as translators can often place a burden on children, but this book shows how important that service can also be to the family. I also enjoyed the father being able to communicate with Mr. Chu at the end, which removes English from a position as the "only" or "right" way to communicate.

Such a sweet and endearing read! It's rare to come across a dual-language book with Chinese characters alongside English and I love it. Not only does the book acknowledge dialects and highlight the beauty of linguistics, it also touches a bit on the immigrant experience. So much nuance and emotional depth in just a few pages. I also adored Angie's relationship with her dad and the heartwarming plot.

More books like this, please!!!