Children - Fiction & Literature, Fiction - People, Places & Cultures
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Overview
A story of hope and epiphany and the importance of family heritage. A young Vietnamese girl takes a lotus seed from the Imperial Garden. Years later, her grandson plants it in his garden--where it blooms again. Full color.Synopsis
When she is forced to leave Vietnam, a young girl brings a lotus seed with her to America in remembrance of her homeland. “Exquisite artwork fuses with a compelling narrative—a concise endnote places the story effectively within a historical context—to produce a moving and polished offering.”—Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
The "spare simplicity" of this tale about a Vietnamese refugee is "richly amplified by arresting, light-filled paintings," said PW in a starred review. Ages 6-10. (Mar.)
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
The "spare simplicity" of this tale about a Vietnamese refugee is "richly amplified by arresting, light-filled paintings," said PW in a starred review. Ages 6-10. Mar.School Library Journal
Gr 2-5-- A nameless Vietnamese narrator tells of her grandmother who, as a girl, accidentally sees the last emperor cry on the day of his abdication. She surreptitiously enters the palace gardens and takes a lotus seed as a remembrance of that day and her ruler. She keeps the seed with her through vicissitudes of war, flight, and emigration until one summer a grandson the narrator's brother steals it and plants it in a mud pool near the family's American home. Grandmother is inconsolable when the exact spot cannot be found. The following spring, a lotus grows from the mud puddle and in time the elderly woman gives a seed to each of her grandchildren, reserving one for herself. The narrator vows to plant hers one day, give the seeds to her own children, keep the tradition, and share her grandmother's memories. This tale of hope and continuance is told with disarming simplicity. Interesting oil paintings, largely in earth tones, are slightly mannered, yet culturally accurate, and often moving in their amplification of the text. A warm addition to school and public library collections. --John Philbrook, San Francisco Public LibraryBook Details
Published
February 1, 1997
Publisher
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages
32
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780152014834