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chrisannee's review against another edition
3.0
Intriguing tale based on a real time in China's history. Chilling.
lisavegan's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this historical fiction picture book. I love how it shows what a huge difference one person can make. a young child in this case. I also appreciate the ecology lesson, in this case how sparrows kept the locusts away and therefore were the true protectors of the crops.
I wasn’t that wild about the illustrations, though the colors, hues, and atmosphere fit the story well. The people’s faces really didn’t work at all for me though. I found them creepy and they detracted from the story for me.
There is a short author’s note in the back of the book about the Sparrow War of 1958 in China. I’m always amazed at what goes on in the world, even events during my lifetime, of which I knew nothing. This little book was a good, quick way to learn about what happened. Now I’m interested in learning more, either by reading a historical fiction or non-fiction book. I think an adult book would have an ending less happy than the one in this book, but who knows what pockets of the Chinese population might have done. Here, if the events depicted are at all accurate, I learned how easily it is to kill sparrows. Scary!
This is a great book to show children that one person can make a difference, and that sometimes it’s good to disobey, to disagree. It’s also a great book to study the environment/ecosystems. I also like how it showed people can develop empathy for others. Good for independent readers and for reading aloud, one to one or to groups.
I wasn’t that wild about the illustrations, though the colors, hues, and atmosphere fit the story well. The people’s faces really didn’t work at all for me though. I found them creepy and they detracted from the story for me.
There is a short author’s note in the back of the book about the Sparrow War of 1958 in China. I’m always amazed at what goes on in the world, even events during my lifetime, of which I knew nothing. This little book was a good, quick way to learn about what happened. Now I’m interested in learning more, either by reading a historical fiction or non-fiction book. I think an adult book would have an ending less happy than the one in this book, but who knows what pockets of the Chinese population might have done. Here, if the events depicted are at all accurate, I learned how easily it is to kill sparrows. Scary!
This is a great book to show children that one person can make a difference, and that sometimes it’s good to disobey, to disagree. It’s also a great book to study the environment/ecosystems. I also like how it showed people can develop empathy for others. Good for independent readers and for reading aloud, one to one or to groups.
gregorbug's review against another edition
3.0
A nice story, but probably not best for a "sensitive" child. The text is too small for kids but the illustrations are beautiful. I'm agree with the girl, I like sparrows too :)
donalynbooks's review against another edition
5.0
When Chairman Mao Tse-Tung declared that sparrows must be killed in order to protect China's wheat crop, tiny Ming-Li fights to save the birds. Based on historical events.
marykpfist's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a historical fiction tale based on the 1958 '4 pest campaign' in China. It deals with a sensitive subject in a meaningful but child appropriate way. I have enjoyed using this book in my science class to start discussions about why each piece of a food chain is important, and how getting rid of any element has far reaching effects that might be unknown at the time.
thereadingcountess's review against another edition
5.0
Inspired by an actual historical event,Sparrow Girl is a tale of bravery, respect for the environment, and packs a powerful "so-what" (what we call the author's message).
Mao Tse-Tung's decree to kill the sparrows in China in 1958 led to the demise of millions of innocent Chinese citizens. What would happen if one little girl dared to listen to her heart and attempt to save some of the struggling birds? "Ming-Li is a true farmer" reminds the readers that though some might be small, their power can be mighty.
Mao Tse-Tung's decree to kill the sparrows in China in 1958 led to the demise of millions of innocent Chinese citizens. What would happen if one little girl dared to listen to her heart and attempt to save some of the struggling birds? "Ming-Li is a true farmer" reminds the readers that though some might be small, their power can be mighty.
shellys's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting, well written true story based on true events.
Beautiful illustrations.
But.
This book is based on real events in a real place. Neither the author nor the illustrator are cultural insiders. Was this story told them by a Chinese person who experienced it?
Would a community in China (where age is honored) praise a child who disobeyed? Especially in a totalitarian regime where disobedience could mean repercussions?
If a Chinese child were part of a class to whom this was read, what would they feel? If there were no Chinese children in the class, what would the children feel this book was teaching? Some reviews say the book will "teach children about following ill-advised environmental advice". Will it?
If that is the message, it might have been better if placed in a fictional kingdom. Setting it in a real place and with almost no historical context seems that any environmental message is lost, and instead questions of "those people" come to the surface.
Beautiful illustrations.
But.
This book is based on real events in a real place. Neither the author nor the illustrator are cultural insiders. Was this story told them by a Chinese person who experienced it?
Would a community in China (where age is honored) praise a child who disobeyed? Especially in a totalitarian regime where disobedience could mean repercussions?
If a Chinese child were part of a class to whom this was read, what would they feel? If there were no Chinese children in the class, what would the children feel this book was teaching? Some reviews say the book will "teach children about following ill-advised environmental advice". Will it?
If that is the message, it might have been better if placed in a fictional kingdom. Setting it in a real place and with almost no historical context seems that any environmental message is lost, and instead questions of "those people" come to the surface.
rebecca_oneil's review against another edition
4.0
Kudos to another picture book that tells a seldom-told story, because I'd never heard the story of the Sparrow War: in 1958, Chairman Mao Tse-Tung decided that sparrows were eating too much of China's wheat crop, and ordered all the citizens (kids too) to go out and make as much noise as possible, to scatter the sparrows and, quite literally, scare them to death. Using firecrackers and noisemakers, the planned worked too well -- without the sparrows, locusts ate the crops, contributing to a famine that killed millions of Chinese during the following years.
This harrowing historical event is told through the smaller story of Ming-Li, a little girl whose love for birds causes her to save seven sparrows and win the respect of her father and his fellow farmers, once they realize that the sparrows had been necessary to control other pests.
"The sky is crying birds."
This harrowing historical event is told through the smaller story of Ming-Li, a little girl whose love for birds causes her to save seven sparrows and win the respect of her father and his fellow farmers, once they realize that the sparrows had been necessary to control other pests.
"The sky is crying birds."
kristenremenar's review against another edition
3.0
Quieter and heavier than the typical picture book. This book is based on the actual Sparrow War in 1958 in China, when Chairman Mao declared that all people were to make noise for three days to kill off the sparrows who were eating too much wheat. Of course, when the sparrows died, the locust population exploded and did even more damage. In "Sparrow Girl", Ming-Li rescues some sparrows and hides them in the barn, ensuring that there will be sparrows in the future. The art is appropriately dark, but didn't grab me. The whole book just made me feel sad - and I get that that's the point, but even the kind of hopeful ending didn't lift the mood.