FICTION

Ten Cents a Pound

by Nhung TRAN-DAVIES
illus. by Josée Bisaillon. 24p. Second Story. Apr. 2018. Tr $18.95. ISBN 9781772600568.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 3—This beautifully written story set in an unnamed Asian country has a poetic quality that matches its tender tone. The young girl dreams of going to school but she is afraid to leave her mother, her village, and all that is familiar. Her mother works in the coffee fields and the girl worries about the woman's "coarsened and scratched" hands, her "calloused and blistered" feet, her back that "bends and stoops in pain," and her eyes that are "blurred and strained." Each time the girl mentions a reason she must stay her mother repeats the phrase, "Ten cents a pound is what I'll earn." The illustrations are wonderful and enhance the theme. There is a realism in the artwork, but also a bit of whimsy as butterflies fly and flowers that bloom whenever the child opens a book or dreams about her future.
VERDICT A touching lesson about parental love, sacrifice, the importance of education, and overcoming obstacles to create a better future.
Reviewed by Peggy Henderson Murphy, Wyandot Elementary School, Dublin, OH , Mar 01, 2018

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