Dreams to Ashes: The 1871 Los Angeles Chinatown Massacre

In the mid-1800s, young men from China crossed the Pacific in search of gold in California, and when the gold ran short, many built new lives as cooks, doctors, launderers and musicians. Some settled in Los Angeles, then a rough frontier town where newspapers regularly stirred up hatred against Chinese residents. On the night of October 24, 1871, a mob attacked the city's Chinatown and killed eighteen Chinese men. Livia Blackburne's picture book introduces some of the people who lived there and the tensions that led to the massacre, and Nicole Xu's ink and digital illustrations carry images of sparks, smoke and fire throughout. A historical note and bibliography follow. It was a 2026 Orbis Pictus honor book.