Yang the Youngest and his Terrible Ear

Being the youngest member of a talented family can be a hassle. You're constantly compared to your older siblings. It's difficult to get any respect. You struggle just to get your voice heard. Yingtao, the youngest member of the Yang family, has it even worse though. Not only are all his older siblings talented in the ways of music, but his mother and father have dedicated themselves towards the art and find the notion that Yingtao is tone-deaf inconceivable. How could this happen? Whatever the cause, the family has bigger issues than their youngest child. They've moved to Seattle from China and money is a constant concern. Yingtao, meanwhile, befriends a boy named Matthew at his school who's problems are the exact opposite of Yingtao's. Where Yingtao only wishes to play baseball and is instead forced to practice the violin, Matthew is forced to remain on the baseball team while in his heart he years to play a fiddle of his own. By putting their heads together, the two boys come up with a plan that will free them both from their family's expectations. IF they can pull it off. Lensey Namioka skillfully pilots a potentially tricky plot into easy reading territory. Kids who are comfortable with chapter books but still shy away from 500 page fantasies may find comfort in this unprepossessing little story. Yingtao is a likable narrator, describing his inability to play the violin in tune with humor and resignation. He obviously knows his family very well and is far more forgiving and far-sighted than they are when it comes to individual flaws. Namioka handles the contemporary Chinese immigrant experience with a sure hand. There's a great moment where Yingtao and an Asian-American student have a serious miscommunication as to the origins of the other. If nothing else, the book should clarify a tiny bit the difference between the Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans. The illustrations by Kees DeKiefte aren't going to blow anyone away, but they'll be welcomed by kids who still need a couple pictures here and there to get through a story. The only problem I could potentially see with this book is the fact that after reading Yingtao's side of it, you find yourself not sympathizing with his older siblings in the least. This is a real problem, since they've continuing books of their own. One has to hope that they come off as slightly more sympathetic in future novels than they do here. Otherwise the book is a great read for those kids who want good baseball fiction but who's parents want a book with a little more meat to it. Consider paring this book with "Baseball Fever" by Johanna Hurwitz for another tale of a father not approving of his son's obsession with the game. For those kids who'd like to read some excellent fiction on the experience of Chinese-Americans, kids who play the violin, kids who hate the violin, kids who play soccer, kids who hate soccer, and all the kids in between.

In this boook, Yingtao Yang has a very very talented family. He has two sisters and one brother. Both his mother and his father played in an orchestra back in China where they lived before moving to Seatlle Washington, where this book takes place. Yingtao Yang plays the violin. Yingtao's brother,(Eldest Brother) and father also play the violin. His oldest sister,(Second Sister) plays the viola and his ten year old sister,(Third Sister)plays the cello. His mother plays the piano. Everyone in his family has a very very good ear. Except Yingtao. His father now taeches violin when he isin't in the orchestra. He is an altrnate in the orchestra.Yingtao's father says at his recital there will be a string quartet with all the Yang children, as the last peice,and Yingtao is afraid he will ruin the recital with his screechs on his violin. Then he and his new best freind, Matthew Conner who likes to play violin, do something very dangerous and sneaky at the recital..............

When I read the first page,I roared with laughter.The whole Yang family had an ear for music except Yingtau,the youngesr Yang in the family.Poor Yintau.He tries to play his instrument,the violin.Soon,he got to know a friend,Matthew who knows how to play base ball and is a beginner in music.Yingtau learns to play baseball and loves the game very much.Yingtau's father is having a recital to encourage children to come to his music class.But Yingtau is afraid that his screeching violin will ruin it.I feel very desparate for him and I wish that I could take a famous violinist and put it in his place.But I wouldn't tell you what happened after this.

This book is very funny and enjoyable. I read it just after it was published. My brother doesn't want to read it, but that's because he's a Nintendo addict. I wish he'd try it because he plays the violin and is almost as bad at it as Yingtao is. Young readers and young musicians will love this book, and kids who don't like to read should give it a chance-they'll like it too. Enjoy!

This book is great! My students and I have enjoyed it. It is funny and yet serious. There are many topics for discussion. I will definitely be reading it to next year's class.