Chang and the Bamboo Flute - Hardcover

Elizabeth Starr Hill lives in Winter Park, Florida.

Lesley Liu lives in Taipei, Taiwan.

Gr. 2-5. Chang is mute but can make sounds that the cormorants--birds his father has trained to fish--respond to. He also plays beautiful music on his bamboo flute. Chang and his family live on a houseboat on the Li River in southern China, where it has been raining for days. The fishing has not been good, but Chang's mother cooks up a dinner in her cherished wok. When Chang and his friend Mei Mei return from the market, it is raining so hard that Chang's family seeks shelter with Mei Mei's family, who put them up in a barn. They return home to find some damage to the houseboat, and, worst of all, the wok is gone. Chang goes to market resolving to barter his flute for a used wok, but instead finds the audience for his playing so generous that he can purchase a fine new one. This simply told story with its unusual locale offers lessons in friendship, cooperation, and acceptance of disability. The many evocative illustrations and the good-size typeface makes this an enticing package that children will take to eagerly. GraceAnne DeCandido
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