Heart of a Samurai: Newbery Medal-Winning Adventure Novel - Paperback

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by Margi Preus (Author)

A New York Times bestseller, Heart of a Samurai is "a terrific biographical novel" (Wall Street Journal), filled with international adventure, a look at cultural differences, and both American and Japanese history.

A Newbery Medal Winner * An NPR Backseat Book Club pick

This award-winning adventure novel will thrill and enrich every young reader who picks it up.

In 1841, a Japanese fishing vessel sinks. Its crew is forced to swim to a small, unknown island, where they are rescued by a passing American ship. Japan's borders remain closed to all Western nations, so the crew sets off to America, learning English on the way.

Manjiro, a 14-year-old boy, is curious and eager to learn everything he can about this new culture. Eventually the captain adopts Manjiro and takes him to his home in New England. The boy lives there for some time and then heads to San Francisco to pan for gold. After many years, he makes it back to Japan, only to be imprisoned as an outsider.

With his hard-won knowledge of the West, Manjiro is in a unique position to persuade the emperor to ease open the boundaries around Japan; he may even achieve his unlikely dream of becoming a samurai.

"Illustrated with Manjiro's own pencil drawings in addition to other archival material and original art from Tamaki, this is a captivating fictionalized (although notably faithful) retelling of the boy's adventures. Capturing his wonder, remarkable willingness to learn, the prejudice he encountered and the way he eventually influenced officials in Japan to open the country, this highly entertaining page-turner." --Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

Author Biography

Margi Preus has written many popular plays and picture books for children, including Windswept, Lily Leads the Way, and The Bamboo Sword. She teaches a children's literature course at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota, where she writes for Colder by the Lake Comedy Theater and also watches for whales on Lake Superior.

Number of Pages: 336

Dimensions: 0.9 x 8.2 x 5.4 IN

Illustrated: Yes

Publication Date: January 01, 2012

Award: Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award (2015)

Accelerated Reader:

Quiz Name: Heart of a Samurai

Interest Level: Middle Grades, 4-8

Reading Level: 5.4

Point Value: 8