Ellis, Leanne Statland. The Ugly One.

Ellis, Leanne Statland.  The Ugly One.    Houghton Mifflin/Clarion  2013  245p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-547-64023-5  jr/sr      Multicultural  E-BN    

Although Micay can not remember how she got the scar on her face, the memory that is locked in her mind can only set her free once she remembers.  In the meantime she must find her place among her people, but how do you get people to accept you when they are afraid of you and the scar on your face?  The road she must travel is a hard one, but at the end of this journey she will be able to uncover her true self and accept her own fate within her tribe in the mountains of Machu Picchu.

A strange mystical walk through a land that is unknown to us, and a journey to find oneself in a world that does not accept one, The Ugly One is a story of discovering who you are, where you fit in, and for what purpose.  The story depicts a time of making human sacrifices for the gods so that the rain would be plentiful for the harvest of grains to feed the people.  In this culture, the power of dreams could lead one to the path of one’s future destiny.

This is a story beautifully told.  The author’s bond to Machu Picchu in Peru has inspired her to write this lovely story as if she heard the words in the wind. Her story will transport you to a time and place that is full of wonder, strong spirits and beautiful images.  The author is a powerful storyteller.

Summary: Micay has a deep scar on her face that causes people to dislike her.  They are afraid of her.  She cannot remember how she got the scar, but her wish is to be able to find her own happiness in this world of beautiful people.

Disfigurement-Fiction, Self-esteem-Fiction, Indians of South America-Fiction                                                                    --Magna Diaz

Heart of a Samurai

Preus, Margi Heart of a Samurai
Amulet see Abrams, Harry 2010 301p 15.95
978-0-8109-8981-8 jr/sr Multicultural E-BN
This fictionalize story is based on a true story that happened to a Japanese child in the 1800’s. Having lost his father Manjiro, 14, was force to provide for his family as a fisherman. He was doing fairly well until the day of the storm that blew his boat of course and stranded him and two other fishermen on an island. That day his life changed forever. Manjiro Nakahama was fourteen years old and after the loss of his father, he was in charge of taking care of his family. He was doing a fairly good job until the day of the storm that blew the boat he was on off course. They were shipwrecked on an island and almost starved to death. Then a ship arrived and saved him and his companions but they were on the brink of death before they were able to recognize who had saved them. This is how he met the white man.
Manjiro’s life changed the day he was saved. A child eager to learn all he could, he was able to learn English and was taken in by Captain Whitfield. His return back to Japan was made impossible due to the restriction imposed by the Japan who prohibited anyone from entering their waters and in fact any Japanese citizen who sailed beyond the boundaries would be severely punished and may even face death. Japan in the 1800 was a country in isolation. No one was allowed in or out of the country. The only alternative for Manjiro was to continue with Captain Whitfield and learn all he could about America.
A story based on true facts, Manjiro Nakahama also known as John Mung left Japan in 1841 was not able to return until 1851. He was instrumental in helping to open the port of Japan.
An excellent story that is part of history of the relations between Japan and United States. Some of the illustrations in the books are in facts from Manjiros’ diary and other portray the views of Japan. Excellent historical Fiction. Diaz(1), Magna
Nakahama, Manjiro,1827-1898 - Historical Fiction -Japanese- United States - relations - Japan

A Reader’s Guide to Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club by Pamela Loos

Loos, Pamela. A Reader’s Guide to Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club.
Enslow, 2008, 112p, $31.93, 978-0-7660-2832-6.

This reader’s guide to Amy Tan’s “The Joy Luck Club”, is an excellent companion to the book. It explores the complexity of the Chinese culture and opens a door to the world of their women. It also becomes a lens for the immigrant’s dream of becoming an American and having American born children. Beginning with her biography, Amy Tan shares with the reader her struggle in the American society and how her traditional parents got lost in the American way even as they embraced the concept.
Amy then translates this struggle beautifully in the book the Joy Luck Club. In choosing four young Chinese women and their mothers the reader gets a chance to see how the mothers took the opportunity to escape the China and with barely anything on their backs except their clothes they ran for freedom. As the story progresses we see how the mother’s life story brought them to despair and to the point of choosing to take a chance at a new life in a world that does not even speak their language. There are plenty of symbolisms, and family pride. And in this story the connection takes you back to China where the thread of family rejoins the American end bring it full circle.
This is a great resource for the teachers and the students. I suspect this book will help explain the book and have the students searching their book for answers to questions.
Includes: glossary, chronology, major works, bibliography, web sites and index. MD

Anahita's Woven Riddle by

Anahita's Woven Riddle by Meghan Nuttall Sayers

Published by Harry Abrams, 2006. 112 pages $16.95

ISBN:0-8109-5481-8

Anahita is a bold, freethinking teenager in a culture that is based on historic tradition. Her family is a nomadic Muslim tribe that travels from the mountains in the summer to the plains in the winter with their herds of sheep which provide the wool for their beautiful, highly prized rugs. Master dye makers and weavers, this tribe faces loss of water rights as the khan (leader) strategizes to marry Anahita. Anahita refuses to marry the khan and presents a challenge that whoever can answer the riddle woven into her marriage carpet will be her husband. There are four suitors. One is a tribe member who becomes a soldier fighting the Russians who threaten the area, another a teacher who has been brought in to teach the tribe, and one a prince who happened to see Anahita in a nearby market and the fourth is the khan. Each suitor’s life is detailed and will appel to male readers. Sayres weaves Muslim terms, with definitions embedded into the text and italicized for reference in the glossary, seamlessly into the fast-paced story of Anahita and her tribes problems, loves, and beliefs. One gains knowledge of dye making, rug weaving, and the lifestyle of Muslims, especially the expectations of women in the Muslim culture. Because the action takes place in Hasanabad area, the corollary to the current discord in the region is evident. A colorful telling of a nomadic culture with action that will keep the reader turning pages. L.L.M.