Illustrated by Yoko Tanaka2009
Rating: 4
Disney/Hyperion Books
Endpapers: Lots of swallows
Wow. Now here's a part of China's history that I did not know. This book is based on a true historical account. (We find this out in an author's note at the end of the book, but I'll begin with it here. )
In 1958, Mao Tse-Tung, the leader of China, forced the people of China to spend three days and evenings making lots of loud noise - to kill all the sparrows, either from stress, exhaustion, or heart attacks - so they wouldn't eat the grain crops. But this completely backfired. Yes, the sparrows were completely gone, but now the locust population took over. A famine bagan, and 30-40 MILLION Chinese died in the next three years. Unreal!
In this story, a young girls saves seven sparrows, thus saving her village from a locusts and grasshoppers and weevils and worms that would destroy all their crops.
Illustrations - a little dark (purposely, I'm sure), but really nice.
(Sara Pennypacker is the author of Clementine.)
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