Description: I AM NOT A GHOST tells the story of a Chinese railway worker who comes to Canada to work on the Great Canadian Pacific Railway. He, like all the others, came in search of a better life but would have died if not for the benevolence of Amelia Douglas, wife of the former governor of British Columbia. A fictional but historically accurate story with an important message, I AM NOT A GHOST describes the racism and hardship that these newcomers to Canada faced and should be required reading for anyone who wants to learn about this troubling period in Canada's history.
Review Quotes: This is a beautiful, beautiful publication with a rich narrative and rich pictorial images that illuminate a period in Canadian and Chinese history. The story (collaboratively written by David Bouchard and Zhong Yang Huang) is told in the voice of an elderly Chinese grandfather recounting (to his granddaughter) his countrymen's legacy as builders of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Perhaps an unknown piece of history is the fact that the Indigenous people helped Chinese newcomers to survive life-threatening conditions. This picture book is a testimony to the roots that are part of our identity and culture and the essential need to pass stories on to future generations. I Am Not a Ghost is a historical account of racism, a tribute to the courage and tenacity of Chinese immigrants from 100 years ago, a story of forgiveness and a story of never forgetting. Such stories help readers to understand the past and support us in moving forward to combat obstacles that we encounter. As far as picture books go, this is a work of art in words and illustrations.
- Dr. Larry Swartz, Educational Consultant
- The Globe and Mail Non-fiction books that teach history, especially those used in schools, tend to be verbose and comprehensive, skimming over many topics, using dense text, and leaving no memorable impression. I Am Not a Ghost is not such a text. By focusing on the immigrant experience of one Chinese Canadian in the 1880s, Victoria's David Bouchard with Regina's Zhong-Yang Huang effectively place young readers into the treacherous life of working on the railway as a Chinese immigrant in the 1880s. The toil, the racism, and the unfairness of conditions and treatments all speak to oppression and perseverance in that oppression. The story of this man is heartbreaking and very real, as is the true story of the building of the railway and Mrs. Douglas with her compassionate nature. With the seriousness of the story and the realism of a historical narrative, the art of Sean Huang adds to the story, taking us from frozen landscapes of workers in canvas tents or collapsed in snowbanks, to the opulence of a fine lady's Victorian home, to the busyness of countless workers on the railway. Combining both a heaviness and lightness to his brushstrokes and the classic palette of old masters, Sean Huang takes us into the past of David Bouchard and Zhong-Yang Huang's story, and tells a history where a man is disregarded because of his heritage and taken for dead because he might not have mattered enough to be helped
- Helen Kubiw, CanLit for Little Canadians