A review by ablotial
Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
3.0
This was a really interesting book. It would really be more like 3.5 stars if I could do that here. I originally added it to my to-read list due to its status as a Newbery Honor book, which I always enjoy checking out the new winners. This book is based on the true story of "John Mung" (real name: Manjiro), who was shipwrecked off the coast of Japan when he was a young boy and rescued by American whalers. At the time, the country of Japan was closed to foreigners, and also to natives who had strayed too far from home for too long (as the shipwrecked men had). Had they returned home, they were likely to be killed. While the other men were left on an island colony (Hawaii, if I recall correctly), Manjiro adopted a more English sounding name and traveled with the whalers on their journeys, eventually ending up living in the United States for some time.
I think this is a great book for kids in this age group -- it teaches them about diversity and acceptance, as well as a lot about Japan, whaling, and some of the history between our country and theirs. John Mung is very interested in learning, asks a lot of questions, is a hard worker, and does well for himself despite the prejudices that many people had toward him. And there were other good lessons embedded in this entertaining story.
I loved that the author took the time to show us things both from the American and Japanese perspectives. It was often comical how small cultural differences could lead to large misunderstandings. It was funny how both sets of people assumed the other group was "stupid" when at first they were unable to communicate since they spoke different languages. It was also an interesting insight when he was interested in dating an American girl, but they thought he wasn't "good enough" for her... and he imagined what the Japanese back home would have thought -- this "barbarian" woman was clearly not good enough for a Japanese boy like him!
Overall, very interesting and educational. I learned a lot by reading it, and actually ended up looking up a bunch of things about whaling and Japan's history on Wikipedia after reading this book. And the story was fun, too. Good book for middle school aged children (or the young at heart who are just looking for a fun way to learn some of this history!)
I think this is a great book for kids in this age group -- it teaches them about diversity and acceptance, as well as a lot about Japan, whaling, and some of the history between our country and theirs. John Mung is very interested in learning, asks a lot of questions, is a hard worker, and does well for himself despite the prejudices that many people had toward him. And there were other good lessons embedded in this entertaining story.
I loved that the author took the time to show us things both from the American and Japanese perspectives. It was often comical how small cultural differences could lead to large misunderstandings. It was funny how both sets of people assumed the other group was "stupid" when at first they were unable to communicate since they spoke different languages. It was also an interesting insight when he was interested in dating an American girl, but they thought he wasn't "good enough" for her... and he imagined what the Japanese back home would have thought -- this "barbarian" woman was clearly not good enough for a Japanese boy like him!
Overall, very interesting and educational. I learned a lot by reading it, and actually ended up looking up a bunch of things about whaling and Japan's history on Wikipedia after reading this book. And the story was fun, too. Good book for middle school aged children (or the young at heart who are just looking for a fun way to learn some of this history!)