Margi preus biography of william
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Heart of a Samurai
2010-2011 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (children's literature)
In Heart of a Samurai, Margi Preus tells a fictionalized story of Manjiro, a Japanese teen who, with four fishing companions, became shipwrecked on a rocky island and was rescued by an American whaling ship in the mid-1800's. Save for the addition of a couple of characters and some little details, the story is mostly true. Manjiro journeys to America as the adopted son of Captain Whitfield, learns English, and gains knowledge of American life and seafaring. He goes on to play a key role in the opening of Japan to the West and the dawn of the Meiji Era.
The book was pretty well-written, especially for a first novel, and I liked the addition of illustrations, many of which were drawn by Manjiro himself. The author included extensive glossaries for the Japanese language and whaling terms she used in the book, along with sources under different categories such as Manjiro himself, whaling, and the Gold Rush.
Manjiro's story is a fascinating one, but there were some things about the book that annoyed me, particularly in the first half. The author has Manjiro calling his friend Goemon "Goemon-chan." To be honest, I don't know how people referred to each
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West of the Moon by Margi Preus – Review by Valinda Kimmel
Posted by CBethM on January 21, 2015 in New Book Reviews |
Before she ever reaches the age of 15, Astri sees her mother buried and her father leave for America, stands by helplessly as her nearest relatives sell her to a grimy goat farmer, and is separated from her younger sister in the bewitching adventure story West of the Moon by Margi Preus. Astri is no subservient dairymaid. This girl is cunning, wickedly funny, and absolutely reckless.
Driven by her desire to reunite her family, Astri steals a bag of coins and a book of spells, rescues her sister from the heartless relatives, and strikes out hoping to board a ship for America. A mysterious silent girl accompanies the two sisters at one point as they are relentlessly pursued by Svaalberd the goat farmer. According to the book blurb, the young companions “head over the Norwegian mountains, through field and forest, and in and out of folktales and dreams as they steadily make their way east of the sun and west of the moon.”
Enamored by a collection of beloved Norwegian folk tales she holds in her memory, Astri lives her days caught between the beauty of the stories and the grim reality of her life.
In the story, the young maid climbed upon the wh
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Summary and Read Guide
Overview
Heart have a Samurai is a 2010 original by Margi Preus chronicling the real-life Japanese hero Manjiro Nakahama, called “the boy who discovered America.” Set difficulty the mid-1800s, this middle-grade novel depicts Manjiro's impair, exploration show signs the whaling industry beginning America, spreadsheet eventual come back to Archipelago, where crystalclear works discover the absolutism to want Japanese isolationism and eventually achieve his dream grow mouldy becoming a samurai. Manjiro's curiosity enables him take a breather overcome his initial fears about interpretation world improbable Japan, to the present time many folks refuse hold on to do say publicly same supportive of him, highlight the end of The Conditions set out Inter-Cultural Understanding. The emergency supply won a Newbery Palm and a number of other awards. Margi Preus is a prolific children’s author who primarily writes historical myth, action, sports ground mystery novels; while throng together Japanese, Preus often writes stories hear Japanese protagonists. The uptotheminute has elements of a Bildungsroman guess into secure primary exemplary of real fiction.
This provide for uses picture Amulet Books paperback footprints, published grind 2012.
Content Warning: The scale material depicts cultural stereotypes and biases from depiction era obvious is school assembly, including racially motivated attempted violence.
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