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A Song for Cambodia
"A biography of Arn Chorn-Pond who, as a young boy in 1970s Cambodia, survived the Khmer Rouge killing fields because of his skill on the khim, a traditional instrument, and later went on to help heal others and revive Cambodian music and culture"--Provided by publisher.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 14, 2009
Music may not make the world go around, but it does provide many people with a connection cannot be broken. It is this type of connection that Arn Chorn-Pond used to survive the violence of the Khmer Rouge. It is the many facets of music that Arn still uses to reconnect an entire culture of musicians to their heritage.
A Song for Cambodia tells Arn’s story as a child exposed to the ravages of living in Cambodia and a refugee camp during the Vietnam War. It is a story replete with images crafted by Shino Arihara that amplify Michelle Lord’s inviting text. To learn about Arn’s journey is to learn about the plight of the Cambodian people under the Pol Pot reigme. Fortunately, the story is not just Arn’s, but that of the triumph of the human spirit and the importance of music for sustaining the fight.
While young readers might not always be held captive by the story, they will certainly develop a sense of basic human rights that includes a great emphasis on the preservation of culture. A Song for Cambodia’s best use may be as part of a unit on human rights, or that of music around the world. Or perhaps it might be part of a biographical sketch on a current person who is making a difference in saving the music. General music teachers need to have this resource available along with the sounds of the khim and the khloy. Perhaps a website and a link from the publisher is in order?
It is important that children understand that music is more than just something encountered on an mp3 player. For Arn, music was literally his escape from a world that made little sense. It was more than a diversion; it was a connection to family, friends, and a culture that was violently changed by others. Music in all forms will continue to provide that possibility, but without the stories of the Arn Chorn-Pond the chances are diminished.
5 of 5
John Parker
Media Coordinator
Andrews High School
50 HS Drive
Andrews, NC 28901
www.slamguy.wordpress.com
A Song for Cambodia tells Arn’s story as a child exposed to the ravages of living in Cambodia and a refugee camp during the Vietnam War. It is a story replete with images crafted by Shino Arihara that amplify Michelle Lord’s inviting text. To learn about Arn’s journey is to learn about the plight of the Cambodian people under the Pol Pot reigme. Fortunately, the story is not just Arn’s, but that of the triumph of the human spirit and the importance of music for sustaining the fight.
While young readers might not always be held captive by the story, they will certainly develop a sense of basic human rights that includes a great emphasis on the preservation of culture. A Song for Cambodia’s best use may be as part of a unit on human rights, or that of music around the world. Or perhaps it might be part of a biographical sketch on a current person who is making a difference in saving the music. General music teachers need to have this resource available along with the sounds of the khim and the khloy. Perhaps a website and a link from the publisher is in order?
It is important that children understand that music is more than just something encountered on an mp3 player. For Arn, music was literally his escape from a world that made little sense. It was more than a diversion; it was a connection to family, friends, and a culture that was violently changed by others. Music in all forms will continue to provide that possibility, but without the stories of the Arn Chorn-Pond the chances are diminished.
5 of 5
John Parker
Media Coordinator
Andrews High School
50 HS Drive
Andrews, NC 28901
www.slamguy.wordpress.com
August 6, 2008
Based on the life of Arn Chorn-Pond who was a child during the Revolution in Cambodia. Well written biography of the horrors of war and how music helped him through it. Bright illustrations keep the book from being too heavy.
August 10, 2025
Biography of Arn Chorn-Pond who survived the Cambodian genocide by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970's and was eventually adopted by an American reverend and volunteer at the refugee camp -- very interesting and powerful story. It's quite sad.
The illustrations are rendered in gouache. -- I see what looks like an erhu in the illustrations.
---
khim - traditional wooden string instrument -- bamboo mallets strike the strings to play it
khloy - Cambodian flute
---
These are the parts that stood out to me:
foreword:
1975 - Khmer Rouge (rebel soldiers) took hold of the capital , Phnom Penh. Led by Pol Pot, the soldiers wanted to make the Kingdom of Cambodia a communist country. ---> killed or captured civilians ---> work camps to grow rice ---> camp borders surrounded with land mines and guards so no one could escape ---> children didn't go to school. trained to work and spy on elders --> Khmer Rouge ruled until 1979 when Vietnamese invaded and removed them from power. 1.7m Cambodians lost their lives during Pol Pot's reign.
---
Hospitals were emptied and temples crushed. Schools were made into prisons and books burned in fires. Songbirds stopped chirping, and monks were silenced. Art, religion, and music disappeared from people's lives.
---
The soldiers separated Arn and his family to go to different work camps. There was nothing they could do. In the last moments, they shouted tearful goodbyes. Arn clutched his mother, but soldiers forced them apart. She cried out for her children, then was gone. Arn would never hear her voice again.
---
Songs filled Arn's empty stomach and soothed his broken heart.
---
Through playing his music and telling his story, Arn slowly began to heal on the inside too.
---
Afterword:
Arn helped fellow survivors in refugee camps, explaining, 'the more good things that I do to help and care for others' suffering - not just my own - I know that I will find myself free from my own suffering and from my own horrible past."
---
When Arn was a young boy, music saved his life. Now it's Arn's mission to save the music.
---
Everyone has good and bad within them. It's up to us to decide how to live. You can literally change the world. - Arn Chorn-Pond
---
Music saved my life. - Arn Chorn-Pond
The illustrations are rendered in gouache. -- I see what looks like an erhu in the illustrations.
---
khim - traditional wooden string instrument -- bamboo mallets strike the strings to play it
khloy - Cambodian flute
---
These are the parts that stood out to me:
foreword:
1975 - Khmer Rouge (rebel soldiers) took hold of the capital , Phnom Penh. Led by Pol Pot, the soldiers wanted to make the Kingdom of Cambodia a communist country. ---> killed or captured civilians ---> work camps to grow rice ---> camp borders surrounded with land mines and guards so no one could escape ---> children didn't go to school. trained to work and spy on elders --> Khmer Rouge ruled until 1979 when Vietnamese invaded and removed them from power. 1.7m Cambodians lost their lives during Pol Pot's reign.
---
Hospitals were emptied and temples crushed. Schools were made into prisons and books burned in fires. Songbirds stopped chirping, and monks were silenced. Art, religion, and music disappeared from people's lives.
---
The soldiers separated Arn and his family to go to different work camps. There was nothing they could do. In the last moments, they shouted tearful goodbyes. Arn clutched his mother, but soldiers forced them apart. She cried out for her children, then was gone. Arn would never hear her voice again.
---
Songs filled Arn's empty stomach and soothed his broken heart.
---
Through playing his music and telling his story, Arn slowly began to heal on the inside too.
---
Afterword:
Arn helped fellow survivors in refugee camps, explaining, 'the more good things that I do to help and care for others' suffering - not just my own - I know that I will find myself free from my own suffering and from my own horrible past."
---
When Arn was a young boy, music saved his life. Now it's Arn's mission to save the music.
---
Everyone has good and bad within them. It's up to us to decide how to live. You can literally change the world. - Arn Chorn-Pond
---
Music saved my life. - Arn Chorn-Pond
November 19, 2019
Powerful book with lots of hard emotional parts to it. Might be more appropriate for middle grades if you are looking to purchase as a classroom book. Very important for students to hear and understand different life stories. You could use this book as an introduction to a lesson or as just a read aloud. The story is about how one person can still make a difference despite their circumstances.
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January 27, 2020This book hits on many hard topics to teach to children. These topics include the Vietnam War, Children's Work Camp, PTSD, and death. This is based on a true story, and done so in a way that children would be able to understand. Music can be a powerful tool for healing, and as an escape and this book highlights this. One of the best children novels I have read. Shows the harsh realities of 1975.
July 24, 2013
(picture book, nonfiction)
Lord, Michelle. (2008). A Song for Cambodia. New York: Lee & Low Books Inc.
Ordering Information: ISBN: 978-1-60060-139-2
Permabound: $18.69 (hardback)
Review
Mooney, M. (2008). A Song for Cambodia. Library Media Connection, 27(2), 80.
SOL: WHII: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the worldwide impact of World War II by examining the Holocaust and other examples of genocide in the twentieth century.
Arts: Music grades 6-8: The student will describe performances, live or recorded, using music terminology by identifying music of diverse cultures, including representative composers.
I paired this book with Son of a Gun because the countries are torn apart by internal conflict. Both main characters are kidnapped by soldiers their lives are at risk because of war. I would recommend the picture book to a history teacher who wants students to connect with the realities of genocide other than the Holocaust. In my personal experience, students struggle to understand the impact other genocides have had on people and countries. This picture book does a good job of providing accurate information and supplementing the text with engaging pictures that draw students in. It could also be used in a music class studying cultural music leading to a discussion of what happens when artists are targeted by a government for censorship or death.
Selection Criteria: The author provides background information at the beginning of the story and information about Arn’s life after the war at the end. An extensive list of sources is provided, which includes two interviews with the subject, which lends credibility to the story. Web resources are also available for further information and research. The book is appropriate for introduction to the topic of genocide which is studied by 10th grade history students. Reviews of the book praise its accuracy and narrative flow. The book adds diversity to the library collection because the main character is Cambodian. Although it is a picture book intended for lower grade levels it can support curriculum and be a hook to the topic for all students.
Lord, Michelle. (2008). A Song for Cambodia. New York: Lee & Low Books Inc.
Ordering Information: ISBN: 978-1-60060-139-2
Permabound: $18.69 (hardback)
Review
Mooney, M. (2008). A Song for Cambodia. Library Media Connection, 27(2), 80.
SOL: WHII: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the worldwide impact of World War II by examining the Holocaust and other examples of genocide in the twentieth century.
Arts: Music grades 6-8: The student will describe performances, live or recorded, using music terminology by identifying music of diverse cultures, including representative composers.
I paired this book with Son of a Gun because the countries are torn apart by internal conflict. Both main characters are kidnapped by soldiers their lives are at risk because of war. I would recommend the picture book to a history teacher who wants students to connect with the realities of genocide other than the Holocaust. In my personal experience, students struggle to understand the impact other genocides have had on people and countries. This picture book does a good job of providing accurate information and supplementing the text with engaging pictures that draw students in. It could also be used in a music class studying cultural music leading to a discussion of what happens when artists are targeted by a government for censorship or death.
Selection Criteria: The author provides background information at the beginning of the story and information about Arn’s life after the war at the end. An extensive list of sources is provided, which includes two interviews with the subject, which lends credibility to the story. Web resources are also available for further information and research. The book is appropriate for introduction to the topic of genocide which is studied by 10th grade history students. Reviews of the book praise its accuracy and narrative flow. The book adds diversity to the library collection because the main character is Cambodian. Although it is a picture book intended for lower grade levels it can support curriculum and be a hook to the topic for all students.
May 23, 2020
A Song for Cambodia is a children's picture book written by Michelle Lord and illustrated by Shino Arihara. It chronicles the life of Arn Chorn-Pond, a musician and eventual human rights activist.
May, at least in my part of the world is Asian Heritage Month, which I plan to read one children's book, particularly a biography, which pertains to the subject everyday this month. Therefore, I thought that this book would be apropos for today.
Arn Chorn-Pond is a musician, human rights activist, and a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime. He is an advocate for the healing and transformative power of the arts, and especially music.
Lord's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. It depicts the idyllic life that Arn Chorn-Pond has lived until the Khmer Rouge regime arrived and he was separated from his family and sent to a children's working camp. Additional information of Chorn-Pond's life is included at the back. Arihara's bleak illustrations depicts the dire time the narrative presented.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Arn Chorn-Pond's tranquil upbringing in a home filled with the sweet sounds of music and laughter and quickly shifts to the invasion of his village in 1975 by the Khmer Rouge, who dispatches him to a horrific children’s work camp.
He was starving, working endless hours in the rice paddies, Arn steps forward when soldiers ask for volunteers to learn to play the khim, a wooden string instrument, and the songs filled Arn's empty stomach and soothed his broken heart. The tale ends with Arn's escape, adoption by an American volunteer and gradual entry into American life, where he recovers from trauma by playing the music of his native land.
All in all, A Song for Cambodia is an informative biography of Arn Chorn-Pond and about the wonderful uplifting, transformative, and restorative powers of music.
May, at least in my part of the world is Asian Heritage Month, which I plan to read one children's book, particularly a biography, which pertains to the subject everyday this month. Therefore, I thought that this book would be apropos for today.
Arn Chorn-Pond is a musician, human rights activist, and a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime. He is an advocate for the healing and transformative power of the arts, and especially music.
Lord's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. It depicts the idyllic life that Arn Chorn-Pond has lived until the Khmer Rouge regime arrived and he was separated from his family and sent to a children's working camp. Additional information of Chorn-Pond's life is included at the back. Arihara's bleak illustrations depicts the dire time the narrative presented.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Arn Chorn-Pond's tranquil upbringing in a home filled with the sweet sounds of music and laughter and quickly shifts to the invasion of his village in 1975 by the Khmer Rouge, who dispatches him to a horrific children’s work camp.
He was starving, working endless hours in the rice paddies, Arn steps forward when soldiers ask for volunteers to learn to play the khim, a wooden string instrument, and the songs filled Arn's empty stomach and soothed his broken heart. The tale ends with Arn's escape, adoption by an American volunteer and gradual entry into American life, where he recovers from trauma by playing the music of his native land.
All in all, A Song for Cambodia is an informative biography of Arn Chorn-Pond and about the wonderful uplifting, transformative, and restorative powers of music.
August 12, 2009
A Song for Cambodia is the true story of Arn Chorn-Pond's survival of the Khmer Rough work camps. Arn's early life in rural Cambodia "was filled with the sweet sounds of music and laughter." But in 1975, the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, finally reaching Arn's village. He was taken from his family and put into a children's labor camp, forced to work in the rice paddies. One day, the soldiers asked for volunteers to play music and Arn raised his hand. He survived the camp by learning to play the khim, a traditional Cambodian instrument. Eventually, Arn escaped to Vietnam and was adopted by an American priest who brought him to the U.S.
This is a simple, but powerful introduction to the horrors of the war. The illustrations are clear and convey the emotions of the story, without being graphic or overly violent. I highly recommend this picture book as an introduction for middle school students (age 10 and up) learning about this cruel period of history. To learn more about Arn Chorn-Pond's story, see his story on You-Tube.
This is a simple, but powerful introduction to the horrors of the war. The illustrations are clear and convey the emotions of the story, without being graphic or overly violent. I highly recommend this picture book as an introduction for middle school students (age 10 and up) learning about this cruel period of history. To learn more about Arn Chorn-Pond's story, see his story on You-Tube.
December 18, 2010
Child slavery and brutal regimes aren’t usually the stuff of picture books, but these subjects are handled with dignity and grace in A Song for Cambodia. Filled with deceptively simple paintings, the book immerses the reader in the world of Arn, a young boy struggling to survive in his occupied homeland in the mid-1970s. Readers are made aware that this is a true story and are introduced to the real Arn, who is still working to preserve the music and culture of his war-torn country.
Because of the subject matter, this book would probably be best suited to older children. Song would make an excellent addition to a lesson on human rights.
Because of the subject matter, this book would probably be best suited to older children. Song would make an excellent addition to a lesson on human rights.
November 9, 2012
Arn Pond, a young boy living in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge took power, survives a horrific children's work camp. He volunteers to become a musician and eventually escapes, hiding in the jungle until he ends up in a refugee camp in Thailand.
Arn's incredible story of loss and resilience is told in the 2012 National Book Award nominee, Never Fall Down. This nonfiction picture book is a simple, elementary-appropriate version of Arn's true story. While I don't love the illustrations, they are a good fit and give an authentic feel to the story.
Arn's incredible story of loss and resilience is told in the 2012 National Book Award nominee, Never Fall Down. This nonfiction picture book is a simple, elementary-appropriate version of Arn's true story. While I don't love the illustrations, they are a good fit and give an authentic feel to the story.
July 12, 2009
Based on the life of a real person, this story tells of the disruption in a young boy's life that the takeover of Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge had back in the late '70s. The tale is a mixture of happy and sad moments, with an ultimately and gratifyingly happy ending. I would like to meet Arn Chorn-Pond, whose life this was based on. Recommended!
March 11, 2010
I enjoyed reading this book to my 6-year-old son. I knew Arn-Chorn Pond's adoptive father and was pleased by this simple story, told from the point of view of the refugee child. It inspired my son to ask many questions about Cambodia and I believe he learned something important. The illustrations are magnificent.
March 6, 2013
Good short version of the adult book entitled, Never Fall Down. Reading this to my 8 year old opened his eyes to a tragedy he never knew existed but this book kept it simple with no horrific details as the adult read has.
December 26, 2014
Homesick, read this book. A little boy has to learn new customs and its hard to that. But the boy learns so much that he might end up where he wants to be. Read the book to find out what happens.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews