We Always Had Wings

Gr 1-3–An unusual offering from Snow, this is a mythic tale that celebrates Chinese-North American heritage and culture. It offers solidarity with all who live away from their ancestral homes, whether through forced or elective migration, and proffers a wish for the possibility of return and connection. Through digital illustrations that use a palette of violet-orange sunsets contrasted with aqua blue and yellow highlights, this lyrical picture book illuminates a journey from North America to China via an airplane. The book seeks to communicate the importance of cultural reclamation for the descendants of immigrants. In an end note, the artist explains that to counter feelings of displacement and “never belonging anywhere,” the book is an invitation to anyone displaced from their homeland and culture to believe that the sky and ocean will always be their home. Symphonic alliteration and assonance may compel older readers to read this text out loud, and adults will notice that the susurrations contrast with the painful history of separation intertwined with Chinese immigration to North America; the double-page spreads are used to majestic effect.