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Katherine Paterson
Examines the life and writing career of the Newbery Award-winning author of "The Bridge to Terabithia" and "Jacob Have I Loved"
136 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
About the author
Alice Cary
40 booksLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. For the poet, see Alice^^Cary.
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October 29, 2008
Katherine is a prolific writer and has won the coveted Newbery Award. She's probably best-known for her book Bridge to Terabithia. She was also a daughter of Presbyterian missionaries to China, where she was born in 1932. She spent her early years in Huaian. By the time she was eighteen, her family had moved 15 times, and during World War II they were finally forced to evacuate -- twice. This book does not provide as much information on China as the other two I have mentioned, since the focus of the author is to point to the factors that led to Katherine's becoming a writer. It was the last thing she had planned to
become. When she was a child she had looked forward to being a missionary or a movie star when she grew up. In this book a lot of the China experience takes a back seat to Katherine's later life in America, but the flavor is still there at the beginning, as well as the cultural confusion
of coming to America and trying to adjust when her classmates accuse her of being a Japanese spy because she came from China. (What does that say about the ignorance and prejudice of some American children?)
Although Katherine's family was evacuated at the beginning of the war, they were allowed to go back to Shanghai in 1939, and during this time, Katherine and her sister were almost trampled to death (accidentally) by Japanese soldiers who were practicing their maneuvers on the beach where the girls were playing. If you are interested in the World War II experience outside of Europe, this might be a good book to read. Though the American missionaries and their children were more sheltered than Chinese nationals, and the children less aware of what was happening than the adults, there is still a lot of information here on what is was like for a primary-age child to live in a city occupied by the Japanese. In 1940, the family returned again to the United States.
become. When she was a child she had looked forward to being a missionary or a movie star when she grew up. In this book a lot of the China experience takes a back seat to Katherine's later life in America, but the flavor is still there at the beginning, as well as the cultural confusion
of coming to America and trying to adjust when her classmates accuse her of being a Japanese spy because she came from China. (What does that say about the ignorance and prejudice of some American children?)
Although Katherine's family was evacuated at the beginning of the war, they were allowed to go back to Shanghai in 1939, and during this time, Katherine and her sister were almost trampled to death (accidentally) by Japanese soldiers who were practicing their maneuvers on the beach where the girls were playing. If you are interested in the World War II experience outside of Europe, this might be a good book to read. Though the American missionaries and their children were more sheltered than Chinese nationals, and the children less aware of what was happening than the adults, there is still a lot of information here on what is was like for a primary-age child to live in a city occupied by the Japanese. In 1940, the family returned again to the United States.
Displaying 1 of 1 review