Yellow Singing Sail: A Memoir of an Only Child in China

by Yinfan Huang

Overview

For fans of New Kid and Stealing Home, an unforgettable portrait of childhood during the one-child era in China.

In this graphic novel memoir, Yinfan Huang describes growing up as an only child in China in the 1990s. Yinfan’s early years are spent near family in the small county of Xintian, but when they move for her father’s new job to the city of Guangzhou, her life changes dramatically. From speaking a different dialect to complying with new rules at home and in school, Yinfan must adapt and try to fit in, all while yearning to make a friend.

A heartwarming look at a girl’s struggle to forge her own identity and find acceptance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781525308116
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	06/03/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	108 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	11 - 14 Years

About the Author

Born and raised in China, Yinfan Huang is a New York–based author and illustrator who creates joyful, whimsical work for children’s books, magazines, brands and institutions worldwide. Some of her clients include the New Yorker, Flow magazine, Warby Parker and 3M Post-it Notes. Her love for children’s books started at the age of seven when she created her first picture book dummy, about a lazy kitty who tries to grow fish from a tree. She came to the United States in 2011 by herself to pursue her passion for illustration and earn a quality education in her chosen field. After three memorable years in Minnesota, she moved to New York City to become a professional illustrator, where she is inspired deeply by the city and its people. She has since published several children’s books and illustrated for children’s and adult magazines in China, North America, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Her cartoons and comics have been published in the New Yorker in print and online since 2020. She has won prestigious awards from American Illustration, the Society of Illustrators and the World Illustration Awards. Yinfan lives in NYC with her two cats and two chinchillas.

Editorial Reviews

Chapters read like slice-of-life vignettes ... to depict the many small, seemingly innocuous events that can shape a child's life.—Publishers Weekly

[An] invaluable ... snapshot of a lived experience ... Graphic memoirs are a fantastic way to capture the sense of an era and experience, and Huang does so masterfully, bringing 1990s China to life.—School Library Journal

Huang's perfectly curated, sensitive observations of her own varying, deeply felt experiences capture the shifting inner landscape of any child growing up between duty and daydreams.—Booklist, starred review

From the Publisher

05/01/2025

Gr 5–8—Set in 1990s China, Yinfan grows up under the country's one-child policy, surrounded by adults with few kids around outside of school. School is about conformity, from the red scarf she must wear to the unisex uniform and standardized education she receives, even when she moves around for her parents' jobs. She's lonely and seeks friendship where she can, but it is a struggle when Yinfan dislikes many of her own attributes. Providing an opportunity to learn about a global culture during a specific time period, Huang shows readers through watercolor what it looked like for her in 1990s China. Few struggles were specific to her situation, and many feel universal, such as body image and feeling loved by family. The resulting story is an identifiable experience for readers to make empathetic connections on a personal level. The uniform visual approach with a red and green color scheme and rectangular panels creates consistency in the storytelling for readers regardless of their comfort level with the visual format. One noticeable issue though is the memoir's abrupt ending, which offers no real sense of closure. It is only in the author's biography that readers learn Huang moved to the U.S. at age 22 to pursue illustration. However incomplete the ending may seem, this snapshot of a lived experience remains invaluable. VERDICT Graphic memoirs are a fantastic way to capture the sense of an era and experience, and Huang does so masterfully, bringing 1990s China to life. —Alicia Abdul

School Library Journal

2025-03-22
In this graphic memoir set in China, Huang documents her childhood move from rural Xintian to bustling, big-city Guangzhou.

In Xintian, young Yinfan is surrounded by family and nature and encouraged to explore, experiment, create art, and stand out. Once she enters primary school, however, she must tamp down her self-expression when she struggles with her schoolwork. Just as she’s started to adapt, her parents find new jobs in Guangzhou, leaving her in the care of her grandparents. She eventually rejoins her parents. They initially share an apartment with relatives, who criticize everything from the way Yinfan brushes her teeth to how her mother washes the dishes. Later, they move to a ninth-floor walk-up, where she experiences a home invasion and meets, then loses, her first friend. Though marked by loneliness and uncertainty, these years in Guangzhou are also full of small rebellions, as when Yinfan passes notes in class and wears braids, which violate the strict dress code. Huang’s bold, comics-style watercolor art, in shades of coral and jade, capture and confront Yinfan’s youthful struggle to be comfortable in her own skin; while she doesn’t shy away from humiliating or painful episodes, she also fully celebrates moments of joy. Simultaneously specific and relatable, Yinfan’s story will resonate with readers still seeking their own ways to belong. Simplified Chinese text appears throughout, occasionally translated.

Honest, vulnerable, and full of heart.(Graphic memoir. 11-14)

Kirkus Reviews