Bronze and Sunflower

Product Description A beautifully written, timeless tale by Cao Wenxuan, best-selling Chinese author and 2016 recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. Sunflower is an only child, and when her father is sent to the rural Cadre School, she has to go with him. Her father is an established artist from the city and finds his new life of physical labor and endless meetings exhausting. Sunflower is lonely and longs to play with the local children in the village across the river. When her father tragically drowns, Sunflower is taken in by the poorest family in the village, a family with a son named Bronze. Until Sunflower joins his family, Bronze was an only child, too, and hasn’t spoken a word since he was traumatized by a terrible fire. Bronze and Sunflower become inseparable, understanding each other as only the closest friends can. Translated from Mandarin, the story meanders gracefully through the challenges that face the family, creating a timeless story of the trials of poverty and the power of love and loyalty to overcome hardship. From School Library Journal Gr 4–6—The landscape, captured in lyrical, evocative prose, takes the leading role in this episodic novel set during China's Cultural Revolution. From the start, readers are drawn into the tiny village of Damaidi, a world circumscribed by a seemingly endless reed marsh, a "vast ocean, rippling with green waves." A broad river serves as the symbolic and literal divide between the village and the Cadre School, a settlement of city dwellers sent to the countryside to tame the wilderness. Against this backdrop, we meet lonely Sunflower, age seven, who has accompanied her father to the Cadre School, and Bronze, the 11-year-old son of the poorest village family, who is unable to speak. When Sunflower's father drowns in an unusual and unfortunate sequence of events, the girl is adopted by Bronze's family, and the pair become fast friends, accompanied in their adventures by the family's water buffalo, a delightful sidekick, "more placid and better natured than most humans." Long as this work is on eloquence and charm, its core strength is its unflinching portrayal of the harsh realities of life in rural China. The family suffer through several catastrophes, including near starvation following a plague of locusts, but perhaps more telling are the endless small embarrassments of poverty. In one sequence, Sunflower pretends to visit friends when in reality she needs a place to do homework because her family can't afford oil for their lanterns. VERDICT This beautifully written depiction of a time and place not often seen in children's literature makes for a strong purchase.—Eileen Makoff, P.S. 90 Edna Cohen School, NY Review To read [Bronze and Sunflower’s] adventures is to be embedded in the Chinese countryside — for good and bad. The daily circumstances of their lives may be different from those of American children, but the emotions and relationships are universal. —The New York Times Book Review In Wang's translation of his leisurely, languid prose, Hans Christian Andersen winner Cao captures both the infinite joys and harsh realities of rural farming life...While seemingly idealized, the story and its protagonists reflect the Confucian values of filial piety and society above self—the very foundation of Chinese culture. Readers of all ages should be prepared to laugh, cry, and sigh with satisfaction. —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Hans Christian Andersen Award–winner Wenxuan’s moving story of a friendship between two lonely Chinese children, orphaned Sunflower and mute Bronze, bears all the elements of a classic: an inviting and solidly constructed setting, a close-knit family, and a kindhearted community (there’s even a pet buffalo). —Publishers Weekly (starred review) Virtuous and kind, Bronze and Sunflower’s family reflects important cultural values including filial piety, respect for elders, the value of hard work and education, and the imp