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Material Type | Library | Call Number | Suggested Age | Status |
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| Book | Searching... Gallaher Village Public Library | JF | Juvenile | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
In this companion volume to Bird Boy, a Parent's Choice Gold Award Winner, the author and illustrator present another sensitive, appealing book, in which a boy in China discovers how to play to his strengths rather than keeping them hidden. Illustrations.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Chang and the Bamboo Flute by Elizabeth Starr, illus. by Lesley Liu, follows the star of Bird Boy as he and his family are forced to leave their houseboat, damaged in a flood, and live on land. When they return to their river home a few days later, they discover something valuable missing, and only Chang can remedy the situation. Of the first novel, PW wrote, "Hill's economical prose effortlessly weaves in multiple themes of courage, responsibility, and friendship while shedding light on a unique way of earning a living [cormorant fishing]." (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Chang, the mute fisherman's son introduced in [cf2]Bird Boy[cf1], expresses himself by communing with cormorants and playing his flute. When a flood nearly destroys his family's houseboat, Chang's flute-playing helps them recover. Accessible to early readers, this story of village life on China's Li River is accompanied by tender illustrations of a loving modern family following ancient ways. From HORN BOOK Spring 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In a simply told sequel to Bird Boy (1999), young Chang, born mute, finds a way to help his family after flood-borne wreckage damages their houseboat. Chang can communicate with his father's trained fishing cormorants well enough, but is shy around people, expressing himself best with his beloved flute. Younger readers will easily understand how much he's willing to give up when, after his mother's precious wok is swept away in a spring flood, he offers his flute to an unscrupulous merchant for a replacement. Fortunately, his friend Bo Won, a blind storyteller, has a better idea, persuading Chang to overcome his reluctance to play in public. Chang's impromptu concert earns him enough for not only a fine new wok, but something delectable to cook in it too. Lin, a Taiwanese artist, brings the traditional setting into sharper focus with large, carefully detailed black-and-white scenes; Hill puts her sensitive musician into situations that allow him to display courage and quick thinking, as well as a willingness to make sacrifices for the greater good. (Fiction. 9-11)
Booklist Review
Gr. 2^-5. Chang is mute but can make sounds that the cormorants--birds his father has trained to fish--respond to. He also plays beautiful music on his bamboo flute. Chang and his family live on a houseboat on the Li River in southern China, where it has been raining for days. The fishing has not been good, but Chang's mother cooks up a dinner in her cherished wok. When Chang and his friend Mei Mei return from the market, it is raining so hard that Chang's family seeks shelter with Mei Mei's family, who put them up in a barn. They return home to find some damage to the houseboat, and, worst of all, the wok is gone. Chang goes to market resolving to barter his flute for a used wok, but instead finds the audience for his playing so generous that he can purchase a fine new one. This simply told story with its unusual locale offers lessons in friendship, cooperation, and acceptance of disability. The many evocative illustrations and the good-size typeface makes this an enticing package that children will take to eagerly. --GraceAnne A. DeCandido
