It is 1880, same time period as Little House on the Prairie. Hanna and her father are looking for somewhere to settle. They arrive in LaForge (Dakota) and begin to set up their shop which will sell Dress Goods but Hanna has a bigger dream. Her late mother has taught her well. Hanna knows she can be a dressmaker if only Papa will agree. In the meantime LaForge has a school and Hanna really wants to honour her mother's wishes and graduate. Hanna has never been to school but she does have a set of the school books and so she can read really well and, while it is not easy, she can do Grade Five mathematics.
Settling into this new town should be easy but some people in LaForge are suspicious of strangers and to them Hannah seems strange.
"Standing behind Hanna at the mirror, Mama moved the braid to rest on Hanna's shoulder. Hanna saw the red silk cord against her black hair, both of them smooth and shining. From that moment on, Hana never again wished for blond curls."
"Hanna didn't know a singe person beside herself who was half-Chinese and half-white. Mama always said it made her special. (but) Most of the time ... (it meant) special in a hurtful way."
"The world was so often unfair, and she couldn't do a single thing about most of that unfairness. But she had learned from Mama to fight it where she could, and that meant right here in LaForge."
Running alongside Hanna's struggle for acceptance and friendship is the story of the equal and far more devastating struggles of the Native American people. A great deal of criticism has been levelled at Laura Ingalls Wilder books which you can explore for yourself. A thoughtful Australian child reader might be curious to know more about this. Linda Sue Park gives a detailed explanation around this topic in her Authors Note. While the issues about Laura Ingalls Wilder are serious they should not impact your reading of this splendid book. They could even be a motivation to meet Hanna as a way to understand the history of racial discrimination in US History. But putting all of this aside please read this book just to meet Hanna - a little girl you will want to know and a little girl you will never forget.
This book is utterly splendid; important; insightful; honest; and beautifully crafted. If I still worked in school library this is a book I would love to put into the hands of all avid readers aged 10+.
Back in April Colby Sharp talked about Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park. I immediately added it to my shopping list knowing I would have to wait because here in Australia hardcover middle grade novels are very expensive and often take a long while to appear on bookseller lists. Finally in late November I decided I just could not wait any longer and so I ordered the hardcover ($30.00). It arrived yesterday just in time for Christmas - I've decided this can be my Christmas present to myself. Of course I just couldn't wait and so I began to read straight away. Then, because the story is just so wonderful, I simply did not want this book to end. As you have guessed I read the whole book in just a few hours today (Christmas Eve). Linda Sue Park is the author of so many of my most favourite books - A Single Shard; A long walk to Water; See Saw Girl; and The Kite Fighters. I met Linda Sue Park at the Seattle USBBY Conference and I was able to (in a stumbling way) thank her so much for her wonderful books.
When I was in Grade 6 my favourite books were the Little House on the Prairie series (Linda Sue Park talks about reading them too) and Children of the Oregon Trail by Anna Rutgers van der Loeff. It seems odd because I was living in and growing up in suburban Sydney, Australia but I found these stories of US settlement and travel across the prairie utterly engrossing. As an adult I continue to enjoy and seek out books with this frontier setting such as The Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman; Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia McLachlan; and Black-eyed Susan by Jennifer Armstrong.
Listen to this audio sample from page one to page four. Prairie Lotus was the 2020 global read-aloud choice. Here are a set of teaching ideas from the US publisher HMH. Here is a podcast (one hour) where Linda Sue Park talks about her book. Here is an interview with Publisher's Weekly.
Look closely at the cover of Prairie Lotus. You can see the family standing near a pond of lotus flowers. Hanna embroiders a tiny lotus flower on her work as another way to honour her mother.
The cover art of Prairie Lotus is by Dion MBD from New York. I do like his cover of A Single Shard.
Just look at all of these honours showered on Prairie Lotus:
Honors for Prairie Lotus:
- Amazon.com Best Children’s Books of 2020: Ages 9-12
- Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Older Readers 2020
- Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Historical Fiction of 2020
- New York Public Library’s Best Books for Kids 2020
- NPR’s Best Books of 2020
- Parents Magazine Best Children’s Books of 2020
- Shelf Awareness Best Children’s & Teen Books of 2020
- Washington Post Best Children’s Books of 2020
Remarkable. Kirkus Star Review
... this is a must-read for middle grades and beyond. School Library Journal
"The writing is distinguished, magical, you can tell Linda Sue Park put so much time and and effort into getting this accurate and so much time and effort and her her heart into making this story and making it accessible for kids." "This is a great story. Kids are going to be brought in and kids are going to think. ... long after they turn the final page." "I feel happy this book is in the world." Colby Sharp
One more thing to mention. I am excited to announce Linda Sue Park has been nominated by USBBY for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal along with Kadir Nelson for illustration. Our Australian nominees are Margaret Wild and Tohby Riddle.
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