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MO Cuihua
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DOI:10.17265/1539-8080/2026.07.006
University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
This paper examines Livia Blackburne and Julia Kuo’s 2026 picture book Bing’s Cherries as an intervention in American folklore. Through a comparative analysis of Ah Bing—The Chinese immigrant who cultivated the Bing cherry—and Johnny Appleseed—the iconic American pioneer—The paper argues that the book challenges the racial logic that historically determined who could become an American folk hero. By taking the tall tale genre, a form traditionally reserved for white pioneer figures, the book recovers a marginalized figure and asserts Asian Americans’ claim to folk-hero status.
Bing's Cherries, tall tale genre, American folk hero
MO Cuihua. The Tall Tale as Historical Reckoning: Ah Bing, Johnny Appleseed, and the Politics of American Folk Memory in Bing's Cherries. US-China Foreign Language, July 2026, Vol. 24, No. 7, 271- 275 10.17265/1539-8080/2026.07.006
Blackburne, L., & Kuo, J. (2026, March 13). Interview by Betsy Bird. Fuse #8, School Library Journal. Retrieved from https://afuse8production.slj.com/2026/03/13/a-giant-homesick-man-who-bred-tiny-famously-delicious-fruit-we-discuss-bings-cherries-with-julia-kuo-and-livia-blackburne/
Blackburne, L., & Kuo, J. (2026). Bing’s cherries. Knopf Books for Young Readers.
Dorson, R. M. (1959). American folklore. University of Chicago Press.
Haley, W. D. (1871). Johnny Appleseed: A pioneer hero. Harper’s Monthly Magazine, 43, 1-17.
Kerrigan, W. (2011). The invention of Johnny Appleseed. Journal of the Early Republic, 31(4), 601-625. https://doi.org/10.1353/jer.2011.0075
Kerrigan, W. (2012). Johnny Appleseed and the American orchard: A cultural history. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Kirkus Reviews. (2025, November 22). Review of Bing’s cherries. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/livia-blackburne/bings-cherries/
Lee, E. (2003). At America’s gates: Chinese immigration during the exclusion era, 1882-1943. University of North Carolina Press.
Publishers Weekly. (2026). Review of Bing’s cherries. Retrieved from https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-593-81324-7