Linda Sue ParkRecensioni

This book was lovely. While it does not rhyme, it has a cadence that makes this a breeze and quite fun to read aloud. This is about the love of books, where and when one reads what they read, etc. It’s an ode to the beauty that is a child with a favorite story. The illustrations are watercolor and have a soft memory like feeling that will be hard to forget.

A love poem to that special book in our lives.

"I know every word.
They're right here inside me.
I say them out loud
whenever I want.

I don't hear you call.
I can't come right now.
I'm too far away
in the world of my book."

As a parent, I've spent a lot of time protecting my childrens' innocence about the world. We've been blessed beyond belief to live in a first world country, in a safe community, where our needs our met, where my kids have been able to be kids. Sure, they're aware of "the needy", we sponsor a child through World Vision, and they've learned about Haiti and Rwanda through some mission programs at our church. But they don't really know the details of the suffering. My older child has now reached an age where some of that protection needs to be turned to education. "A Long Walk to Water" is an excellent novel to do just that.

"A Long Walk to Water" has two parallel story lines. The first, which starts in 1985, focuses on Salva, who becomes one of the Lost Boys of Sudan when his village is attacked in the middle of the school day and he must flee for safety -- a heartbreaking journey which takes years and spans countries and continents.

The second story line starts in 2008 and focuses on Nya, a Sudanese girl whose sole activity in life is to walk miles to and from a watering hole each day to collect dirty water (the only available kind) for her family.

The book is written for middle grade readers, so adults may find it lacking in depth and predictable. However, I think it hits the sweet spot for its intended audience. Middle grade readers will find suspense, action, and a sense of empathy for the characters in both of the story lines. My daughter was compelled to find out more about both the Lost Boys as well as access to clean water -- and I doubt she is alone. The book has given us an opportunity to discuss not only history and geography, but also better helps her understand the current Syrian refugee crisis. I highly recommend this for middle grade readers.

There are several reasons I did not give this audiobook a higher rating. After reading the synopsis for this book, I imagined a culturally sensitive and historically accurate story representing children of Chinese descent. Unfortunately, Park does not delve very deeply into the reasons behind racism during the 1800s. Also, I had read that Linda Sue Park was inspired to write this historical fiction novel due to her childhood fascination with the Little House on the Prairie series. This set up a pretty high set of expectations in my mind in terms of writing style. Overall, the idea for this story was good but the writing style didn't click with me and some portions of the narrative sounded wooden or repetitive. Still, I wouldn't want to dissuade anyone from reading this. Just don't set your expectations too high.

Based on the book's blurb and my interest in learning more about the Lost Boys of the Sudan, I had added the audio version of A Long Walk to Water to my wishlist over a year ago. Although the narrative is written for a younger audience, I quickly realized how woefully inadequate my knowledge is of the cultural history for this region.

The story is told through a partially fictionalized dual narrative, one based on the true story of a boy named Salva who is uprooted from his home and family in 1985 due to civil war. He goes through a harrowing journal of survival across the Akobo Desert . The second story is set during 2008 and describes the hardships a girl named Nya faces, as she spends most of her day making the arduous journey to collect water for her family.

The story is beautifully written, though there are some gruesome scenes which are integral to the story. Beyond the despair and sadness, there is also a focus on the power of hope and determination. The audio version is well produced with two narrators and the occasional use of sound effects or music, to mark the end of a chapter.

“One step at a time, one day at a time, just today, just this day to get through,” Salva would say. Perhaps these are words everyone can relate to on a basic level, given the extremely troubling and distressing times we are currently living though.

Interview with author Linda Sue Park and Salva Dut:
https://youtu.be/GkxkisRUmMM

This is a very enjoyable kids book! I didn't love how the women were relegated to the background, but it is accurate for 15th century Korea, so it gets a pass. I did love the relationship between the two brothers and how they became such good friends with the king. It was an easy and enjoyable read!½

A great read, set in Sudan, aimed at young adult readers, inspiring and full of hope. Loved it!

Salva Dut is 11 years old when war raging in the Sudan separates him from his family. To avoid the conflict, he walks for years with other refugees, seeking sanctuary and scarce food and water. Park simply yet convincingly depicts the chaos of war and an unforgiving landscape as they expose Salva to cruelties both natural and man-made. The lessons Salva remembers from his family keep him from despair during harsh times in refugee camps and enable him, as a young man, to begin a new life in America. As Salva’s story unfolds, readers also learn about another Sudanese youth, Nya, and how these two stories connect contributes to the satisfying conclusion. This story is told as fiction, but it is based on real-life experiences of one of the “Lost Boys” of the Sudan. Salva and Nya’s compelling voices lift their narrative out of the “issue” of the Sudanese War, and only occasionally does the explanation of necessary context intrude in the storytelling. Salva’s heroism and the truth that water is a source of both conflict and reconciliation receive equal, crystal-clear emphasis in this heartfelt account. (Fiction. 10-14)

-Kirkus Review

Another newberry winner and justifiably so. I enjoyed the plot and characters and what I learned about ancient Korea and pottery. I was somewhat upset at the ending… will leave it at that as don’t want to do spoiler.

My 12 year old son gives this his highest recommendation. “I really like historical fiction and learning about other places, and stories of people trying to survive, and this has both and is really good!”

"Bee-bim-bop" is the lovely bouncing refrain in this story about preparing a favorite family dish.

"Rice goes in the middle
Egg goes right on top
MIX IT!
MIX LIKE CRAZY!
Time for BEE-BIM-BOP!"

This book allows the reader to see Korea in a different time period. We can see the huts they lived in, clothes that were worn, etc. The most important art of thsi book is how communication was back then. They use bonfires to represent safety. Each village would light a fire to show that they are free of intruders and there is peace. Once the next village saw this they would light their fire and so on. This is a great book for younger students interested in history. It has the aspect of fiction and adventure while also letting us see into a different world. The author does a good job odf captivating us with the story and pairing the illustrations accordingly.

This novel will feel familiar to fans of the Little House on the Prairie. In fact, if you enjoyed reading the series as a young child you may enjoy delving into this world again albeit with a very different perspective.

This historical novel follows Hanna as she settles with her father in the small town of LaForge in Dakota Territory after traveling east from California over three-year period. As Hanna adjusts to her new surroundings, she must deal with the subtle and blatant racism she encounters as a half-Chinese girl. The townspeople treat all “dirty Chinamen” as immoral and stupid. Hanna finds these encounters almost impossible to bear at times as she is also mourning her Chinese mother – the one person who can understand her experiences. Hanna draws on her memories of her mother to muster the courage to attend a school where most don’t want her and endure the taunts of the townspeople and the bullying from her classmates. Hanna knows that her life will be limited by her race and heritage. Her own parents had to travel to another state to marry. She also sees firsthand the injustices suffered by the Native Americans in the American West at this time. Even her own father seems to explain away the terrible treatment of the Sioux despite his own encounters with racism as the husband of a Chinese women.

Hannah simply wants to be a dressmaker in her father’s shop and develop a few close friends. The racist attitudes of those around her put her dreams and her father’s store at risk. Hanna is determined to win over the townspeople and hopes that her dressmaking skills will prove that she can contribute and eventually be accepted by the community. Otherwise, she and her father will once again travel by horse and wagon to find a home.

Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park is a nod to the Little House books while also addressing some of the more problematic and racist issues with the Little House series. Park gives the readers a highly observant heroine whose voice is strong, hopeful, and sensitive.

This book snuck up on me, the first few pages were not an approachable start, it took a while for me to get some context. After that I was hooked. The characters were living crafted, the environment lovely, the work and toil real, hard, and worth the effort of Tree-ear, the 12 year old at the center of the story.

I love the idea of this and I enjoyed reading it. I did *not* realize it was poetry until I got to the author's note at the end.

The rhymes in this are delectable and the illustrations are so cute! I love it, I love it! And, as Karen pointed out, it may be the best possible read aloud choice when you get to the letter X with preschool story time.

Historical fiction of a young boy in 1800s Korea whose father starts the series of signal fires to warn the emperor that enemies are approaching. Nice message of bravery and doing the right thing.

Read for school, not memorable.

Like author Linda Sue Park, I was a big Little House on the Prairie book fan. My second grade teacher read LHotP to us in class, and when we did a family trip to Michigan the next summer, my parents made stops in Plum Creek, MN and DeSmet, SD. Nothing fits a long roadtrip quite well like staring out the window at grass and thinking about Laura doing the same from the back of the wagon.

However, like Park it's hard to ignore the fact that the Ingalls family likely would've been racist to me with some of the aggressions that Hanna encounters (and as Park notes, are all things she's faced IRL). Historical fiction is whitewashed, and that gives an erroneous perception that history largely belongs to white people. Black and brown people have existed in all eras; do you think our ancestors stayed at home until deciding to move in the 20th century or something? Prairie Lotus is Park's way of reckoning with that childhood love while envisioning how girls like us would've lived in a pioneer town.

LH fans will find this a familiar place- small town with a one room school house, cheerful calicos and poplins, and salt pork. One of Hanna's classmates is an expy of Laura Ingalls Wilder herself (lived in the same states and wants to graduate & become a teacher soon). Unlike the Little House books, though, Park recognizes that indigenous people lived in the area and they have names & dialogue instead of being a nameless, voiceless Other. A lot of what 14-year-old Hanna faces from townsfolk is unfortunately timeless, and will be familiar to any nonwhite reader (as is the way she reacts, not wanting to give the satisfaction of a reaction especially as the only Asian these people have likely met).

Really loved this, and it was the perfect way to segue into my Little House reread. I'll strongly recommend this book in general, and also as a companion book for readers going through LH, especially those who Ma would've snubbed.

It was awsome. Some sad deaths but i love the story telling.. can't wait for the next one

It was awsome. Some sad deaths but i love the story telling.. can't wait for the next one

96
Novel 10

This was interesting, it was cool that the author wrote it all inspired by the Korean poetry form sijo. It makes me think how the act of writing poetry and the question posed in this book are similar. When you think about the one thing you’d save, you have to go through a mental catalog of stuff that’s important to you and narrow down what’s most important and why to choose just one thing. The process of writing poetry forms like this is similar, you have to mold what you want to say around the framework of the form and in doing so, you start with what’s important that you want to communicate and then pare it down to the most important words to get that idea across and fit your form and have the two things synchronize with each other.

This story also inevitably leads you to consider what would be the one thing you would take (after knowing your family and pets are safe of course) and why. It was interesting how some of the answers from the students were more practical things that they need and some were purely sentimental as I think those two sorts of things are the first that will come to mind. It seemed like there were a lot of similar answers, but maybe that’s because in reality we are all human and very similar things are important to us because of why they are important to us.