by Cao Wenxuan
Flap Copy Description:
When Sunflower, a young city girl, moves to the countryside, she grows to love the reed marsh lands - the endlessly flowing river, the friendly buffalo with their strong backs and shiny, round heads, the sky that stretches on and on in its vastness. However, the days are long, and the little girl is lonely. Then she meets Bronze, who, unable to speak, is ostracized by the other village boys. Soon the pair are inseparable, and when Bronze's family agree to take Sunflower in, it seems that fate has brought him the sister he has always longed for. But life in Damaidi is hard, and Bronze's family can barely afford to feed themselves. Can the little city girl stay here, in this place where she has finally found happiness?
My Thoughts:
The author, Cao Wenxuan, first became known to me when I learned he had won the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2016. Then, earlier this month I read an amazing interview by Publisher's Weekly with the award-winning author (see below) and decided I just must read his middle grade novel. Bronze and Sunflower is a literary delight with complex characters who must overcome great obstacles - I loved it! The lyrical prose penned by Cao Wexuan is beautiful; it slowly weaves an epic tale between two unlikely friends - set during the Cultural Revolution of China. At 380 pages, I highly recommend Bronze and Sunflower to avid readers aged eight to eighty!
The author, Cao Wenxuan, first became known to me when I learned he had won the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2016. Then, earlier this month I read an amazing interview by Publisher's Weekly with the award-winning author (see below) and decided I just must read his middle grade novel. Bronze and Sunflower is a literary delight with complex characters who must overcome great obstacles - I loved it! The lyrical prose penned by Cao Wexuan is beautiful; it slowly weaves an epic tale between two unlikely friends - set during the Cultural Revolution of China. At 380 pages, I highly recommend Bronze and Sunflower to avid readers aged eight to eighty!
Click here to learn more about the extraordinary author, Cao Wenxuan.
Click here to read "Bologna 2018: A Talk with Cao Wenxuan."
