The story is a gentle depiction of a loving family of another culture, and their hardships and celebrations, including Buddhist and other ceremonies. The younger daughter, Noi, is horrified by the thought of having to work in a factory, like her older sister, and hence is motivated to work hard at her painting in hopes of being able to bring home money from selling painted umbrellas. Thus this is a gentle introduction to the concept of child labor. A message of the importance of cultivating your talents (so that you can do work that is personally fulfilling, rather than numbing work) is a great message to start conveying early, as is the implicit message of how fortunate most modern day American children are compared to children of other times and places. So for a younger or more sensitive child, not yet ready for, say, "Counting on Grace", this is an age-appropriate introduction to child labor, as well as a lovely depiction of another culture. So I give this book 4 stars for the much-appreciated message at an age-appropriate level. But it's a fairly leisurely and gentle depiction, probably only interesting to some kids; in particular, with its rather quiet and docile heroine, probably not interesting to many boys. (For older kids, in particular including boys, I might suggest the much grittier, dynamic graphic novel/memoir by Lat, "Kampung Boy", as a picture of a future comics-writer's childhood in Malaysia.)
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Silk Umbrellas
(2005, Fiction - Family Life, Written by Carolyn Marsden)
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings(Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)
Not age appropriate for kids under 7, age appropriate for kids over 8; suggested age 8. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Lyrical slice-of-life from rural Thailand.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 8 and Up
The good stuff
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
About Silk Umbrellas
Parents need to know that this is a slice-of-life from the other side of the consumer cycle -- the people whose labor produces the cheap electronics and native art.
Read our full review by Matt Berman
Families Can Talk About
- Families can talk about the impoverished people who work at factory jobs to contribute to America's consumer lifestyle. Have you ever given much thought to who makes the products you enjoy? How do you feel about buying the kind of tourist goods Noi works on? Is it exploiting cheap labor or supporting needy people?
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Most Recent Reviews
- I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
age-appropriate introduction to child labor
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