Mai Ya's Long Journey

Book excerpt: Mai Ya's Long Journey by Sheila Cohen is the first book in the new Wisconsin Historical Society Press Badger Biography series designed for upper elementary and middle-school readers that explores the stories of Wisconsin people. Mai Ya's Long Journey relates the personal story of Mai Ya Xiong and her family. Their journey from the Ban Vinai refugee camp in Thailand to a new life in Madison, Wisconsin, is extraordinary, yet typical of the stories of the two hundred thousand Hmong people who now live in the United States and who struggle to adjust to American society while maintaining their own culture as a free people. The author, who has known Mai Ya since she was a student in her seventh-grade ESL (English as a Second Language) class, brings her personal perspective to this compelling story. Distributed for the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.