Sparrow Girl

by Sara Pennypacker, Yoko Tanaka (Illustrator)

Overview

A young girl’s small but powerful act of heroism during China’s “Sparrow War” teaches the value of compassion in this poetic picture book by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sara Pennypacker.
 
Sparrows were the enemy of farmers. According to the leader of the country, they were eating too much grain, so he announced a great “Sparrow War” to banish them from China.
 
But Ming-Li didn’t want to chase the birds away. As the people of her village gathered with firecrackers and gongs to scatter the sparrows, she watched in dismay.
 
Quietly, she vowed to save as many sparrows as she could, one by one...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423111870
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	02/17/2009
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	256,666
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sara Pennypacker is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Pax, the Clementine series and the spinoff series Waylon, and the acclaimed novels Summer of the Gypsy Moths and Here in the Real World. She divides her time between Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Florida. She invites you to visit her online at sarapennypacker.com.

Yoko Tanaka is the author-illustrator of Dandelion’s Dream and the illustrator of novels and picture books including The Magician’s Elephant, Theodosia and the Last Pharaoh, and Princessland. She lives in London and invites you to visit her online at yoko-tanaka.com.

Editorial Reviews

A powerful message that one small person can make a big difference.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

The so-called Sparrow War, declared by Mao in 1958, furnishes the basis for this grim story. Deciding that sparrows are eating too much grain, "our Leader" orders his people to drive them away, and Ming-Li's whole village turns out to "[make] so much noise the ground itself rumble[s]." Ming-Li objects, pointing out that other birds will leave along with the sparrows, but she is silenced; on her own, she creates a bird refuge in an abandoned barn and becomes a heroine the following year, when the birds are needed to control worms, grasshoppers and other pests. Fans hoping for the insouciance of Pennypacker's Clementine will look in vain; Ming-Li's determination rises up against the frightening images of marauding villagers and of dead birds raining from the sky. Debut artist Tanaka contributes skillful but unsettling pictures-her overcast palette, skewed perspectives and stylized faces create the atmosphere of a bad dream. Ages 5-9. (Feb.)

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Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 4

In 1958, in a stunning demonstration of unintended consequences, Mao Tse-tung decimated the sparrow population of China by compelling every able-bodied citizen to set off firecrackers, clang gongs, beat on drums, etc., over a three-day period. The frightened birds took wing until they dropped dead of exhaustion. Though this kept the sparrows from eating the wheat crop, it also prevented them from controlling the locust population, resulting in a famine. Pennypacker has imagined the thoughts and actions of a little girl who loves the sparrows and manages to rescue a few of them, keeping them safe in a barn and feeding them secretly in the months that follow. When the crops in her village are threatened by the insects, Ming-Li shows the farmers the birds she has tended and they release them, recognizing that the sparrows have always been their friends. While this picture book, with its murky folk-art-style illustrations, owes more to ecological concerns than historical fact, it will be useful in teaching about the potential of one person to make a difference in the world, and the potential of many humans to create disasters.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

In this sober tale based on Mao Zedong's 1958 edict to eradicate China's sparrows to prevent crop damage, a compassionate little girl follows her heart instead of her Leader. When Ming-Li learns of Mao's plan to eliminate the sparrows by creating noise for three consecutive days, she prophetically fears the terrible din will kill all birds. As mindless mobs beat drums, clang gongs, crash cymbals and explode firecrackers, Ming-Li's worst fears are realized, but not before she hides seven sparrows, which she feeds and tends in secret. When spring arrives and shocked farmers watch helplessly as locusts decimate their crops, Ming-Li reveals her secret and saves her village from famine. Tanaka's quiet, simple illustrations in subdued tones match the somber mood. In her red suit, Ming-Li's solitary figure stands out from the villagers in their uniform blue jackets, reinforcing her individuality. Moving images, such as a double-page spread of dead sparrows falling like "teardrops" while a weeping Ming-Li cradles a limp bird, send a powerful message that one small person can make a big difference. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews