Sparrow Girl

This illustrated book is based on a true-life event when in 1958, Chairman Mao Tse-Tung declared war on sparrows. Believing they eat too much of China's wheat crop, his plan was to decimate the entire population of sparrows.

Over a three-day period, he decreed that all citizens in the country, including children, should make as much noise as possible in the hope that the noise would kill all birds, and make them die from exhaustion or heart attacks from the fear of the sound. Using firecrackers to make loud sounds, all were told to light them to drive the sparrows from China. There was in effect, a war against the poor, helpless sparrows.

In fact, the birds did die, but Mao's short-sighted, ignorant plan did not take into account that the show more sparrows played a much needed role in the ecological balance. Without the sparrows, the locust population flourished, and in fact grew to uneven proportions which led to a famine that killed approximately 30-40 million Chinese people in the next three years.

This book illustrates children who, out of love of sparrows attempted to save some of the beloved, much- needed birds. show less

Sparrow Girl is the story of Ming-Li, who loved the birds and, despite the law, determined to save some of the sparrows. Pennypacker does a great job of showing, through this tale, the consequences of upsetting the balance of nature. Sadly, in real life, though the sparrow population was decimated, the wheat crop was not more abundant. Because the birds were gone, the locusts thrived, and became a swarm that ruined the crops and caused famine.

Sparrow Girl is a great infusion of fact and fiction, providing sweet story to explain the importance of the sparrow to the ecosystem. The rounded shapes and muted colors in the illustrations allow the story to take on a tone of gravity, displaying the famine China is faced with and the determination of a young girl.

A picture book of historical fiction seems like a rare thing, possibly because it can be difficult for children to discern between what aspects are fact and what is simply story. The preface to Sparrow Girl is helpful in explaining to children what part of the story is based in history. It would also be useful in teaching students about the fragility of the ecosystem.

This is an extremely emotional and haunting book. It carries a good lesson for children about hubris, ecology, compassion, respect for nature, the balance of nature, and the importance of every living thing in the web of life. According to the book jacket, this story is based on real events in China, when Chairman Mao ordered the people to make a racket for 3 days to kill all the sparrows in China (who he thought were stealing too many seeds). The plan was horrifically successful, and with the sparrows gone, locusts and other pests decimated the crops, leading to a famine that killed 30 to 40 million Chinese. Children learn from an awful human event from several points of view: from that of a girl, from a Chinese perspective, and, show more implicitly, from the perspective of Nature itself.

Teachers may read this title for curriculum having to do with farming, ecology, birds, nature, and even to supplement studies of Native Americans and the respect for all life on Earth. show less

Sparrow girl was a great story about a girl that lived in China and while her village was trying to get rid of all of the sparrows, becuase they felt the sparrows were stealing their food, the girl Ming-Li wanted to save them. Although the vast majority of the sparrows fell to the ground dead due to all of the nose Ming-Li was able to save 7. The next year the people realized that they had made a terrible mistake becuase the sparrows had saved crops from insects and other pests.

A war is declared in China against the sparrows and the villagers begin setting off fireworks to kill them. Ming-Lee and Older Brother are saddened that the sparrows are dying and secretly keep seven sparrows safe in a barn. Later that year her father notices that the locusts are destroying the crops and calls a village meeting. Ming-Lee reasons that it is because there are no sparrows left to eat the bugs and the elders agree. She shows them her secret flock and it is decided that Ming-Lee has saved the day. Great multicultural fable for slightly older readers. Begins to introduce courageous characters who defy society to this age group.

This story takes place in China in 1958. Chairman Mao Tse-Tung declared a war on Sparrows. He blamed the sparrows for eating their wheat crop. He planned for the people to make noise in their villages to scare the sparrows. A little girl named, Ming Li saw that this was causing the sparrows to die because they were so frightening. The rising action in this story would be when she decided that her brother and her were going to save a few birds. The climax is when the farmers realized they needed the sparrows, because their crops were dying due to the locusts. The sparrows would eat the insects, and they realized they made a horrible decision. Ming Li shows them that she saved seven sparrows and they were so happy. The all agreed to never show more harm the sparrows again! Loved this story, it was very cute! It also brought a tear to my eyes, you can feel that Ming Li was very upset that the sparrows were dying. She was determined to save some and become a true farmer. At the end she accomplished her goals! show less