Heart of a Samurai
Margi Preus
Language: English
Pages: 126
ISBN: 1419702009
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
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 fourteen-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 for some time in New England, 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 shogun to ease open the boundaries around Japan; he may even achieve his unlikely dream of becoming a samurai.
Accolades and Praise for Heart of a Samurai
- 2011 Newbery Honor Book
- New York Times Bestseller
- NPR Backseat Book Club pick
"A terrific biographical novel by Margi Preus." -Wall Street Journal
STARRED REVIEW
"It's a classic fish-out-of-water story (although this fish goes into the water repeatedly), and it's precisely this classic structure that gives the novel the sturdy bones of a timeless tale. Backeted by gritty seafaring episodes—salty and bloody enough to assure us that Preus has done her research—the book's heart is its middle section, in which Manjiro, allegedly the first Japanese to set foot in America, deals with the prejudice and promise of a new world. By Japanese tradition, Manjiro was destined to be no more than a humble fisherman, but when his 10-year saga ends, he has become so much more."
—Booklist, starred review
STARRED REVIEW
"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
STARRED REVIEW
"Stunning debut novel. Preus places readers in the young man's shoes, whether he is on a ship or in a Japanese prison. Her deftness in writing is evident in two poignant scenes, one in which Manjiro realizes the similarities between the Japanese and the Americans and the other when he reunites with his Japanese family."
—School Library Journal, starred review
STARRED REVIEW
"Preus mixes fact with fiction in a tale that is at once adventurous, heartwarming, sprawling, and nerve-racking in its depictions of early anti-Asian sentiment. She succeeds in making readers feel every bit as "other" as Manjiro, while showing America at its best and worst through his eyes."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"First-time novelist Preus turns the true story of Manjiro into an action-packed boy's adventure tale."
—Horn Book
Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School, Book 1)
Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School, Book 1)
think you can believe,” he finished. “Now it is my fault for Jolly not being here. I am sorry you lose your best harpooner and get me, only a greenhand.” The captain sighed and tapped his pipe against his hand. Then he did something Manjiro never would have expected: He laughed. “Those fellows are clever, aren’t they? They had us both fooled. You really thought that whale swallowed the watch, and I figured they filched my watch purely to play an elaborate joke on me.” He shook his head but,
and went above deck. A glorious wind pushed at his hair and billowed his shirt. Sea and sky were velvety, the night embroidered with a million glittering stars, every wave frosted with silver moonlight. It seemed as if everyone on board had turned out. The wind had blown their foul mood away, and as he passed they clapped him on the back, shook his hand, offered a kind word. It was all very strange. Why were they suddenly friendly, and why so quiet? The men practically tiptoed about on deck.
panes. When one looks through them when the train is in motion, its swiftness is so great that objects are seen only for an instant. This land ship runs on iron rails.” When Lord Nariakira asked about ships, Manjiro talked at length about whaling vessels, how swift they were—and they were not the swiftest! He told of their many sails and how superior they were in weathering storms, and how they could carry thousands of barrels of oil and dozens of men. Westerners, he said, had mastered the art
roof. It must have been a special day because he could smell the sweet perfume of cooking rice. Why, he wondered, did rice have no smell when it was raw, but smelled so heavenly when it was cooking? He was brought back to the present moment when a bowl of steaming rice was set before him. A real bowl. Of real rice. It had not been a dream. The wonderful, unexpected smell of rice cooking had fanned the embers of memory. Each of them was also given a metal stick, with four prongs on one end.
tiller. “Your main job is to row, and to row like vengeance. Don’t ye be losing your nerve—and no loud noises. Not a hair on your heads may tremble, yet your backs must heave to. Now, pull, me heroes—pull!” Three other boats had also set off from the ship, each with a six-man crew. They all rowed so hard, Manjiro wondered if they were in a race. But a race to where? Since he faced backward to row, he could not see where they were going. When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw nothing but