Prairie Lotus (Hardcover)
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Staff Reviews
After the death of her mother, Hanna and her father strike out to the Dakota territory to open a dry goods store. But there are a few problems. For one thing, LaForge already has dry goods and suiting retailers; what they need is a dress shop. Hanna has mad sewing skills and a taste for fashion, but will her father let her get involved when her schooling comes first? But it gets worse, for Hanna is half Asian, and there’s pushback from the community as to exactly how welcoming they’re going to be. School might not be roadblock, after all. And things get more complicated when Hanna befriends a group of Native women and children gathering plants off the reservation. And on top of that, will any of the kids wind up befriending Hanna? Lots of authentic historical details kept me engaged in this attempting-to-fix-the-problems homage to the works of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Great for adults and kids ten and up.
— Daniel Goldin
With Prairie Lotus, Newbery Medal winner Linda Sue Park has written a gem of American historical fiction for middle grade readers. In her author's note, Park says it's a story she's been writing nearly all her life. "It is an attempt to reconcile my childhood love of the Little House books with my adult knowledge of their painful shortcomings." To reconcile the attitudes of Laura Ingalls Wilder's characters toward people of color while honoring the books, Park gives us 14-year-old Hanna, the half Asian daughter of a white father and a mother who was both Chinese and Korean. After her mother's tragic illness and death, Hanna and her father leave California in 1880 for the Dakota Territory, where four Little House books were also set. Hanna will need all the loving wisdom Mama gave her in order to be strong in the face of challenges and injustices from people who have never lived around a Chinese person and react very badly. The things Hanna and Mama wanted for her - going to school, designing beautiful dresses, even walking safely in town - can seem impossible, but it's the details of meeting these problems on a frontier that make the book so textured and meaningful. Hanna is a strong, determined girl who will search for ways to treat everyone justly, and to find just treatment for herself. This is richly developed Americana, and I am deeply grateful!
— Tim McCarthyDescription
Prairie Lotus is a powerful, touching, multilayered novel about a girl determined to fit in and realize her dreams: getting an education, becoming a dressmaker in her father’s shop, and making at least one friend.
Acclaimed, award-winning author Linda Sue Park has placed a young half-Asian girl, Hanna, in a small town in America’s heartland, in 1880. Hanna’s adjustment to her new surroundings, which primarily means negotiating the townspeople’s almost unanimous prejudice against Asians, is at the heart of the story.
Narrated by Hanna, the novel has poignant moments yet sparkles with humor, introducing a captivating heroine whose wry, observant voice will resonate with readers. Includes an afterword from the author.
This moving historical novel is from Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park, whose beloved middle grade books include A Single Shard and A Long Walk to Water.
About the Author
Linda Sue Park, Newbery Medal winner for A Single Shard and #1 New York Times bestseller for A Long Walk to Water, is the renowned author of many books for young readers, including picture books, poetry, and historical and contemporary fiction. Born in Illinois, Ms. Park has also lived in California, England, and Ireland. She now lives in western New York. Learn more at lindasuepark.com.
Praise For…
"Captivating." — New York Times Book Review
"In this accessible exploration of a biracial teen’s prairie year, Park invites fellow Wilder fans to consider the struggle for respect and independence roiling beneath the iconic sunbonnet." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"Narrated by a smart, clear-sighted and tremendously likable protagonist, Prairie Lotus is a richly layered work of historical fiction set in a landscape that will be familiar to Little House on the Prairie readers….As one can expect from Park,?Prairie Lotus's gorgeous, fluid storytelling carries the reader along swiftly to a satisfying conclusion.” — Shelf Awareness