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Loading... The Lotus Seed (original 1997; edition 1997)by Sherry Garland (Author), Tatsuro Kiuchi (Illustrator)
Work InformationThe Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland (1997)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This story follows a Vietnamese woman from childhood to old age as she carries a lotus seed that she took from the imperial gardens the day the Vietnamese emperor gave up his throne. She carries it all the way through the Vietnam War, and then again on a refugee boat to America. She safeguards the seed for many years until eventually one of her grandsons finds the seed, takes it, and plants it in her garden. At first she is distraught because she no longer has the seed that reminds her of her childhood home. But then the lotus blooms in her garden, and she tells her grandchildren her story, and gives them all a seed from the lotus pod from her garden to remember it by. This story has a nice underlying theme of home and accepting change as inevitable, and also of letting go of the past. The idea that heritage should be cultivated and shared instead of guarded and kept away is good for children to have, they often neglect to find the stories of their elders until it is too late. ( ) The Lotus Seed was an overall great book. It was so good because it told a story about a lifetime. A girl’s grandma took a lotus seed from the Emperor of Vietnam and carries it with her throughout her life. The girl’s brother found it and planted it. The grandmother was very upset, but once the lotus flower began to bloom, she gave the seeds to each of her grandchildren. I also liked this story because it gave details about history. Although the details were vague, it still showed how the grandmother left Vietnam to come to America because a war broke out and she had to flee her country. The overall main idea is about family background. The family came from Vietnam to America and had struggles that they overcame. Throughout the book the granddaughter was very interested in her grandmother. When doing a lesson on symbolism, this book would be really great because of the significance the lotus seed has for the family. It would lead to a good class discussion as to what the flower means to them especially in a time of war. Doing this lesson with a 2nd or 3rd grade class would be ideal. Another activity to use to this book would be a writing activity where the students must read this book or listen to it read to them and then have them write their own narrative about something that has been given to them and is special or symbolic. no reviews | add a review
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A young Vietnamese girl saves a lotus seed and carries it with her everywhere to remember a brave emperor and the homeland that she has to flee. No library descriptions found. |
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