Prairie Lotus

by Linda Sue Park

Paperback, 2022

Status

Available

Publication

Clarion Books (2022), 272 pages

Library's review

A “half-Chinese and half-white” girl finds her place in a Little House–inspired fictional settler town.

After the death of her Chinese mother, Hanna, an aspiring dressmaker, and her White father seek a fresh start in Dakota Territory. It’s 1880, and they endure challenges similar to those
Show More
faced by the Ingallses and so many others: dreary travel through unfamiliar lands, the struggle to protect food stores from nature, and the risky uncertainty of establishing a livelihood in a new place. Fans of the Little House books will find many of the small satisfactions of Laura’s stories—the mouthwatering descriptions of victuals, the attention to smart building construction, the glorious details of pleats and poplins—here in abundance. Park brings new depth to these well-trodden tales, though, as she renders visible both the xenophobia of the town’s White residents, which ranges in expression from microaggressions to full-out assault, and Hanna’s fight to overcome it with empathy and dignity. Hanna’s encounters with women of the nearby Ihanktonwan community are a treat; they hint at the whole world beyond a White settler perspective, a world all children deserve to learn about. A deeply personal author’s note about the story’s inspiration may leave readers wishing for additional resources for further study and more clarity about her use of Lakota/Dakota. While the cover art unfortunately evokes none of the richness of the text and instead insinuates insidious stereotypes, readers who sink into the pages behind it will be rewarded.

Remarkable.
Show Less

Awards

Triple Crown Awards (Nominee — 2023)
Georgia Children's Book Award (Finalist — 2022)
Great Stone Face Book Award (Nominee — 2022)
Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award (Nominee — Grades 6-8 — 2022)
Bluestem Award (Nominee — 2022)
Nevada Young Readers' Award (Nominee — 2022)
South Dakota Teen Choice Book Awards (Almost Made It — 2022)
Grand Canyon Reader Award (Nominee — Intermediate — 2023)
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (Honor Book — Children's — 2021)
Iowa Children's Choice Award (Nominee — 2022)
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Nominee — Grades 4-6 — 2022)
Flicker Tale Award (Nominee — Middle Readers — 2021)
Volunteer State Book Award (Nominee — Intermediate — 2022)
Azia Books Diversity Award (Listed — 2022)
Maine Student Book Award (Reading List — 2022)
Nerdy Book Award (Middle Grade Fiction — 2020)
Project LIT Book Selection (Middle Grade — 2021)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Kids (Fiction for Older Readers — 2020)

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2020-03-03

ISBN

0358454638 / 9780358454632

Barcode

1608
Page: 0.507 seconds