Heart of a Samurai

Heart of a Samurai

by Margi Preus
Heart of a Samurai

Heart of a Samurai

by Margi Preus

Paperback

$10.99 
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Overview

A New York Times Bestseller, Margi Preus’s 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 John Newbery Medal Winner

An NPR Backseat Book Club pick

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.

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

“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)

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781419702006
Publisher: Amulet Paperbacks
Publication date: 01/01/2012
Pages: 336
Sales rank: 159,417
Product dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range: 10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Margi Preus is a New York Times bestselling author of the Newbery Honor Book Heart of a Samurai and other notable books for young readers, including West of the Moon, Shadow on the Mountain, and Village of Scoundrels. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota, land of snow squalls and cardamom buns.

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