Prairie Lotus

Starred review from January 6, 2020
Newbery Medalist Park explores prejudice on the American frontier in this sensitively told story about a multiracial girl and her white father in Dakota Territory. Hanna, 14, and her father have been traveling for nearly three years, since her half-Chinese, half-Korean mother’s death. When they settle in railroad town LaForge in April 1880, Pa plans to open a dry goods store, and talented seamstress Hanna, taught by her mother, fervently hopes to attend school before designing dresses for the shop. Though the town reacts strongly to their arrival, mocking Hanna and keeping children home from classes, the girl perseveres by emulating her mother’s gentle strength. Strongly reminiscent of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s novels in its evocative, detailed depictions of daily frontier life, the book includes an author’s note acknowledging Park’s efforts “to reconcile my childhood love of the Little House books with my adult knowledge of their painful shortcomings.” Though Hanna’s portrayal at times hews closely to the “exceptional minority” mentality, her painful experiences, including microaggressions, exclusion, and assault, feel true to the time and place, and Park respectfully renders Hanna’s interactions with Ihanktonwan women. An absorbing, accessible introduction to a troubled chapter of American history. Ages 10–12. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown Ltd.

Narrator Emily Woo Zeller's somber tone will help listeners imagine daily life for Asian people on the American frontier in this evocative story inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series. When 14-year-old Hanna arrives in the Dakota territory with her father to set up a dress goods shop, she hopes to formally graduate from school and become a dressmaker, like her late mother. But when the townspeople discover she is half-Chinese, their prejudice makes her life painfully difficult. Zeller portrays Hanna's strength and dignity as she faces microaggressions, peer exclusion, mocking, and a terrifying drunken assault. A respectful rendering of the Ihanktonwan women and a passionate author's note bring context and depth to the audiobook. S.C. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine