COCKROACH COOTIES
Yep, Laurence. COCKROACH COOTIES. 2000. New York: Hyperion. ISBN0786813385
Plot Summary
Cockroach Cooties is a delightfully funny story of two typical brothers, Teddy and Bobby, who do not always get along. They are harassed at school by one of their peers, Arnie-zilla, until one day a secret weapon is discovered; a cockroach. The bully does not like cockroaches. The boys use the cockroach who they have named Hercules to their advantage and fortunately learn more than how to care for a cockroach.
Critical Analysis
Laurence Yep pulls from a familiar theme of sibling rivalry which is evident in any culture to create a story familiar to children about a bully, family life, and a pet. About being a big brother, Teddy states, "However, there was one part of brotherhood I took seriously. In fact, it was the privilege of all big brothers. Nobody could do serious damage to my little brother except me." This story is not unique to Asian American children except for the fact that Yep introduces a few cultural markers throughout the story which connects the reader to the fact that the boys are Asian American children. Most of the characters in the story have been assigned American sounding names: Teddy, Bobby, Arnie, Sister Marie, Roderick, Ollie to mention a few. The boys, Teddy and Bobby live in Chinatown in an apartment with their parents. They address their parents as Mother and Father. Mother is not having a birthday party instead the characters refer to the celebration as a birthday banquet which will be held at a favorite Chinese restaurant. This story goes from one event to the next with the boys learning a lesson that sometimes we behave a certain way because of our life circumstances. This is an example of what I read in the lecture notes that states,"Asian American literature is often non-linear and does not necessarily have a beginning, middle, and an end." This story is a brief glimpse into the lives of two young boys. Ethnic foods are mentioned in the story such as bright red strips of candied ginger, sweet preserved plums, Belfast sparkling cider, a kind of carbonated apple juice, paper-wrapped chicken, steamed fish in black bean sauce, with fish cheeks being the tastiest. The meals are eaten with chopsticks. When the boys go to the market to buy Mother a present the shop keeper always comments on their choice by saying ver-ree edu-ca-shun-al or ver-ree han-dee. Another glimpse into the Chinese culture is when Teddy describes one of his teachers, Miss Lee. He states, "She liked to wear Chinese-style dresses that had a slit up one leg. She liked the old-fashioned Chinese discipline, too." The theme of tolerance is loosely woven through this story. Teddy is disgusted by his brother's admiration of a newly acquired cockroach to which his brother replies, "Just because something's different doesn't make it a monster" and "He wouldn't seem so disgusting if you looked at things from his view." This statement is later revisited when the boys are talking about the bully Arnie-zilla. Arnie tells the boys his mother works two jobs and doesn't have much time in between for cleaning so the apartment is infested with bugs. Arnie hates bugs. Arnie promises to stop picking on the brothers and the brothers let Arnie save face by not telling their peers he is afraid of bugs. The children learn Chinese lessons and write their words/symbols with special ink. Bobby places the cockroach in his Chinese ink box. Yep tells the reader that a Chinese ink box is a "metal box about the size of a lady's compact and engraved on the lid was a picture of a carp becoming a dragon. In the box was a small ball of cotton soaked in Chinese ink which is thicker and blacker than American ink." The symbol of the dragon is often found in Asian Pacific American literature. According to our lecture notes, "Asian Pacific American children's literature is also grounded in symbols and creatures from folklore and myth, especially dragons and demons." Apparently Asian Americans shop daily for their meals as is the custom of other cultures. Yep describes the market in Chinatown as "the streets were filled with people shopping for their dinners. There were always plenty of fresh vegetables and meat and fish and fruit. Everyone had bulging plastic shopping bags." During the banquet expressions such as Chinese time are mentioned. "I've heard of American time and Chinese time but never bucket time." Mother's banquet was a fiasco from the beginning. There was a constant dripping from the ceiling and buckets began to overflow. Father was trying to get the buckets emptied and made the mistake of asking one of the waiters to take away some of the buckets. "Father should have known better. You just didn't say things like that to a Chinatown waiter. It was like ordering around the president." Mother and Father have a close knit relationship with each other and the family, relatives included. Many of the relatives are at the restaurant for the birthday banquet.
This book is a good example of how Laurence Yep "draws from his Chinese American background to speak to common feelings and experiences."
Reviews
"The translation reads dtiffly, but the characters are varied enough to create laughs and chemistry." - School Library Journal
"Full of the sights and sounds of San Francisco's Chinatown, the tale zips along at a brisk pace, percolating with snappy dialogue. A seasoned craftsman, Yep effortlessly shoehorns in fun facts about insects ("Did you know that cockroaches have two brains?" Bobby asks the hapless Arnie as he pursues him with Hercules). An altogether chipper outing." - Publishers Weekly
Awards/Connections
BROTHERS written by Yin, illustrator Chris Soentpiet
MY ROTTEN RED-HEADED OLDER BROTHER written by Patricia Polacco
BOTHERS AND SISTERS: FAMILY POEMS written by Eloise Greenfield
HUNGRY COCKROACHES written by Meish Goldish
http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/yep
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