The author of sing to the dawn 1975 again writes about the experience of a village girl in thailand, where she grew up. Although ho is a singaporean, she has spent most of her life abroad, living in thailand, taiwan, laos, cambodia and the united states, and using these places as settings for her stories. My father, in his deep quiet monotone, would tell me wonderful bedtime stories in cantonese that he made up, about giants and turtles and emperors. A book of the names and address of people living in a city. Minfong ho is an awardwinning chineseamerican writer. The parched yellow fields outside the village where seventeenyearold jinda lives are her familys only source of income. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. During my first winter, i used to sit near that tree and imagine that i was home. Many cambodians went to the border for food and shelter. Hos first book, sing to the dawn 1975, received first prize from the council of interracial books for children. Minfong ho books list of books by author minfong ho. Underneath the delicate lotus imagery, this small, understated story is infused with passion and determination.
Soon, however, i realized that words could evoke images of home even more effectively than the banana tree, and i began to write down notes about the things i missed. Her works frequently deal with the lives of people living in poverty in southeast asian countries. The sun glazed the afternoon with a heat so fierce that the distant mountains shimmered in it. Like wild prairie grass swaying in unison side to side in the light caressing breeze, rice stalks bow submissively to the whims of the wind, very. The daughter of the head of a small village in northern thailand, jinda, finds herself caught up in the student uprising in bangkok. Ages 12 and up minfong ho, the author of sing to the dawn, has written a. The severe drought has taken a toll on the rice crops. This time, however, the stakes are higher than in sing to the dawn. See all books authored by minfong ho, including hush a thai lullaby, and the clay marble, and more on thriftbooks. Buy a cheap copy of rice without rain book by minfong ho. Ebook sing to the dawn as pdf download portable document. Sing to the dawn by minfong ho, kwoncjan ho illustrator this was a simple book to read. Characteristically focusing on strong female protagonists who interact with their families and friends against the backdrop of real events. Sing to the dawn, rice without rain and the clay marble.
Sing to the dawn by minfong ho for all english spm students in kelantan, perak, terengganu and penang. Rice without rain character essay nedmanoon angkulprasert rice without rain by minfong ho is an extremely realistic novel, which portrays the way of life for traditional east asian communities. When students from the city sought the villagers courage to fight for their rights, jinga put her faith in them completely. Rice without rain by minfong ho hardcover mint condition. Rice without rain by minfong ho in the pursuit of writing. Her second book, rice without rain 1990, received the parents choice award and was named an american library association ala best book for young adults and an ala booklist editors choice. And she trys to find away to raise enough money to get him out. Rice without rain is a historical fiction novel by minfong ho.
Minfong ho books, author biography, and reading level. The parched yellow fields outside the village where seventeenyea. My first book, sing to the dawn 1975, grew naturally out of those notes. So far rice without rain by minfong ho has to be the hardest book i read to date but is definitely is the hardest book to put down i become so absorbed by jindas and neds contrasting views of the thai student movement during 1973 that i began to question my feeling towards thailand military influence on the whole nation as i have very little knowledge or awareness of thailand student protest in the early 70s. Minfong ho, in awardwinning novels such as sing to the dawn, rice without rain, and the clay marble, presents realistic, nonromantic depictions of her native southeast asia. I found this book in a dusty backpackers bookstore in ho chi minh city, and i didnt realize it was for youth.
Author of the clay marble, the clay marble, sing to the dawn, hush. Characteristically focusing on strong female protagonists who interact with their families and friends against the backdrop of real events, ho is often recognized for the sensitivity. The book, the clay marble, is written by minfong ho about the war in cambodia. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Rice without rain is a book written by minfong ho, witch is about a girl who is in search of founding her best friend, and discovers that her father is in jail. When young intellectuals from bangkok arrive in 17yearold jindas remote village, they are greeted with suspicion as possible troublemakers. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Rice without rain adlib by ho minfong paperback book the. Five years later ho published her third book, the clay marble. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of rice without rain by minfong ho. Rice without rain by minfong ho 1990, hardcover for sale. This book goes within the depths of the struggle villagers and civilians go through on a regular basis. Characteristically focusing on strong female protagonists who interact with their families and friends against the backdrop of real events, she is often. In 1986, after starting a family, ho returned to writing fiction, publishing rice without rain, a book which retells the experiences of another village girl in thailand.
Fleeing wartorn cambodia in 1980, dara, her mother, and her older brother find sanctuary in a refugee settlement on the thailand. A collection of three of awardwinning author, minfong hos, most beloved and acclaimed books. She was educated in thailand and taiwan, before moving to the united states to attend cornell university in ithaca, new york. Rice without rain 9780688063559 by ho, minfong and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. My first book, sing to the dawn 1975, grew naturally out of. Rice without rain by minfong ho, minfong ho 9780688063559.
Rice without rain from school library journal seventeenyearold jindas life is irrevocably changed when ned and three other students from bangkok visit her village. How can the rainstarved crop produce enough rice to feed them, much less pay the rent. Despite being fiction, her stories are always set against the backdrop of real events, such as the student movement in thailand in the 1970s and the cambodian refugee problem with the collapse of the khmer rouge regime at the turn of 1970s. Minfong ho, the author of sing to the dawn, has written a fictional account.
The voices of my earliest childhood speak to me in chinese. Minfong ho sets out through writing rice without rain to understand what happened to the thai student movement during 197376, why it succeeded. She has won numerous local and international awards. The thai schoolgirl dawan, having won a scholarship to study in the city, must fight for permission to accept it, a problem complicated by her own brothers being next in line for the honor. In awardwinning novels such as sing to the dawn, rice without rain, and the clay marble, minfong ho presents realistic depictions of her native southeast asia. The parched yellow fields outside the village where. Across the valley, yellow rice fields stretched, stooped and dry. Ho minfong, born in 1951 in myanmar, raised in thailand and based in usa, is a wellknown singapore childrens author. Her brother, kwai, places second and is initially jealous, causing a rift between the two previouslyclose siblings. Villagers are starving as they barely have enough to eat, much less to pay the rent. Rice without rain by minfong ho 19900528 jan 1, 1797. Her parents are of chinese origin, so she spoke fluent chinese in her home, thai in the marketplace of bangkok and english in school.
Among her most famous novels is sing to the dawn which has been translated into various languages, used as a school text, staged as a musical for the 1996 singapore arts festival, and adapted into an animated film. Get an answer for can i get the opening chapter summary of rice without rain by minfong ho. Her first two books, sing to the dawn and rice without rain voted best book for young adults, are set in the country of her childhood, thailand. Set in thailand during a water drought in 1976, chineseamerican author minfong hos. Personally, i think it could have done with some editing superfluous words, some cropping but thats my personal opinion. A tad too predictable and polemically quite heavyhanded, hos novel. The description is marvelous, the writing is timeless, and the story is amazing. Her first two books, sing to the dawn and rice without rain, are set in the country of her childhood, thailand. Perhaps the recently arrived young strangers from the city are right about the need for centuriesold traditions to change. These books showcase aspects of southeast asian rural life in particular, and highlights. When she visits her father in prision tears sprang to my eyes, its just that the authors writing is so amazing it takes you right to bankok with the characters.
Rice without rain will remain in my heart and my mind forever. Can i get the opening chapter summary of rice without rain. The title of this book is rice without rain and it was written by minfong ho. In 1980, she worked as a nutritionist with an international organisation at the thaicambodian border, to where thousands of refugees had fled. In her novel rice without rain, the story is told through the.
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