The book begins with the universal relationship of brothers. Teddy describes Bobby as “a stone around my neck.” Teddy sees his own brother as a pest and bother. On the other hand, Bobby looks up to his brother and wants to prove to him that he is worthy to stick with. Cultural markers of distinct Asian physical descriptions are not given by Yep. He describes his characters based on the way they act and not on their physical description. Many of the cultural markers are based on the setting of San Francisco and foods of Chinatown.

Bobby is described as small for a second grader with a sweet disposition. He is knowledgeable about many topics and has a curiosity about the world.  Teddy is described as a boy who talks back and gets into fights. He describes himself as the “normal one.” Arnie is in the second grade for the second time. He is known as Arnie-Zilla because he towers over his fellow classmates. He’s not dumb, he’s one of the top students in his Chinese class. He failed because he skipped too many classes.

The setting of Chinatown is described as a place for tourists and people shopping for a variety of things. Tour buses drive by and tourists take pictures of the people and places. Teddy and Bobby are placed in these typical settings throughout the book. They have their picture taken from a tourist on a bus, they walk the steep hills of San Francisco to go home, and they shop among the vendors on the street. Even the gift the boys purchase for their mother is a tourist item labeled Chinatown. Distinct Chinese foods are mentioned at their mom’s birthday banquet; apple cider to drink, paper-wrapped chicken, fish with black bean sauce, and prawns.

Although our characters are Chinese American, Yep emphasizes universal themes in this book. With many Asian American books distinguishing the differences in cultures, Yep shows how many cultures are similar in various day to day living. A wonderful book to share with children of all cultures and backgrounds.