Mai Ya's Long Journey (Badger Biography)

One in the Badger Biography series that explores the stories of Wisconsin people. This is the story of Mai Ya Xiong and her family. Their journey from a refugee camp in Thailand to a new life in Madison, Wisconsin, is typical of the stories of the Hmong people who struggle to adjust to American society while maintaining their own culture.
Mai Ya's Long Journey is the first book from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press in the new Badger Biography series, designed for upper elementary and middle-school readers to explore 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.