{"id":31176,"date":"2019-01-08T22:47:31","date_gmt":"2019-01-09T02:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=31176"},"modified":"2019-01-08T22:47:31","modified_gmt":"2019-01-09T02:47:31","slug":"review-of-samurai-rising-by-pamela-s-turner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=31176","title":{"rendered":"Review of Samurai Rising, by Pamela S. Turner"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Samurai Rising<\/p>\n

The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune<\/em><\/p>\n

by Pamela S. Turner
\nillustrated by Gareth Hinds<\/p>\n

Charlesbridge, 2016. 236 pages.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

This book of narrative nonfiction for children booktalks itself. Samurai warriors! Murder and betrayal and kidnapping! Epic battles and clever strategy! And it\u2019s all true!<\/p>\n

Pamela S. Turner has done in-depth research about an ancient Japanese Samurai warrior, around whom many legends have sprung up. She does a good job separating what is known from what is speculated about him, and the final 73 pages of the book are back matter, including notes about the history and about her research, a timeline, bibliography, and an index.<\/p>\n

The story itself reads like a gory and dramatic novel. Now I personally am not a big fan of war stories, but for kids who don\u2019t mind that (and there are many), this book is filled with excitement \u2013 all the more exciting because it really happened.<\/p>\n

The Introduction is short and explains why Minamoto Yoshitsune\u2019s story is important:<\/p>\n

Few warriors are as famous as the Japanese samurai. We remember those beautiful swords and those fearsome helmets. We recall, with both horror and fascination, how some chose to end their own lives. But no one can understand the samurai without knowing Minamoto Yoshitsune.<\/p>\n

Yoshitsune\u2019s story unfolds in the late twelfth century, during the adolescence of the samurai. Yes, cultures have their youth, maturity, and old age, just as people do. During Yoshitsune\u2019s lifetime the samurai awakened. Their culture was bold, rebellious, and eager to flex its muscle. The samurai would ultimately destroy Japan\u2019s old way of life and forge a new one using fire and steel and pain.<\/p>\n

Yoshitsune was at the very heart of this samurai rising. Exile, runaway, fugitive, rebel, and hero, he became the most famous warrior in Japanese history. The reason is simple: Yoshitsune was the kind of man other samurai longed to be.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The book begins with the uprising and death of Yoshitsune\u2019s father in 1160. It ends with Yoshitsune\u2019s suicide before his enemies came for him in 1189. In between we hear the story of the warrior\u2019s glory that went unappreciated except in legend.<\/p>\n

The author does an amazing job of making this all accessible and understandable to the reader, while inserting little reminders that this is history, and we don\u2019t know everything. She mentions eyewitness accounts, where the information is sketchy, and uses language like \u201cprobably\u201d and \u201cImagine\u2026\u201d where she\u2019s drawing inferences.<\/p>\n

No child who reads this book will think that history is boring!<\/p>\n

pamelasturner.com<\/a>
\ngarethhinds.com<\/a>
\ncharlesbridge.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Nonfiction\/samurai_rising.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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