Prairie lotus book

Linda Sue Park has penned an insightful and beautifully poignant novel about a Chinese American girl, traveling from California to the Midwest with her widowed white father. In a setting that will be recognized by fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books, this compelling story of resolution and persistence, told with humor, insight, and charm, offers a fresh look at a long-established view of history.

The people of LaForge have never seen an Asian person before most are unwelcoming and unfriendly - they don’t even know her! Hanna is determined to stay in LaForge and persuade them to see beyond her surface. She and Papa could make a home here.īut Hanna is half-Chinese, and she knows from experience that most white people don’t want neighbors who aren’t white themselves. She could go to school, if there is a school, and even realize her dream of becoming a dresmaker - provided she can convince Papa, that is.

Her father could open a shop on the main street. When Hanna arrives in the town of LaForge (Dakota Territory) in 1880, she sees possibilities. Themes: Fathers and daughters, Chinese Americans, Racially mixed people, Bullying, Frontier and pioneer life, Dakota Territory, Dressmaking