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Summary
Summary
Ursula always wanted to see the circus. That is, until she caught smallpox. Now all she wants is to hide her scarred face. But Ah Sam, her parents' Chinese cook, has other ideas. He brings to town a magical circus and finds a way to give Ursula the confidence she needs to face the world. In return, Ursula finds a way to make Ah Sam happy. She creates the biggest, best Chinese New Year celebration that Whistle, Montana, has ever seen! Based on actual events that occurred in the early twentieth century, two-time Newbery Honor author Laurence Yep's novel captures both the overwhelming pain of being different and the simple comfort in finding the community to which you belong.
Author Notes
Laurence Yep was born in San Francisco, California on June 14, 1948. He graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1970 and received a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
He primarily writes fiction for young adults, but has also written and edited several works for adults. His first novel, Sweetwater, was published in 1973. His other books include Dragonwings, Dragon's Gate, Shadow Lord, Child of the Owl, The Earth Dragon Awakes: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, and The Dragon's Child: A Story of Angel Island. He has won numerous awards for his work including the Newbery Medal Honor Book, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Jane Addams Children's Book Award, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-Ten-year-old "Pirate Ursula" is the fearless leader of her playmates, but after she contracts smallpox and is left with significant facial scarring, she sees herself as "Monster Ursula." She becomes a recluse, never leaving her family's stagecoach station in early 20th-century Whistle, MT. Ursula is a very human child surrounded by mostly sympathetic adults. Through the efforts of the new Chinese cook, Ah Sam, she eventually finds the courage to rediscover Pirate Ursula. He and his family of acrobats help to heal not just the girl, but also the racial divides in Whistle, and Ursula finally understands that it is what is inside a person that matters most. Touches of humor and whimsy counter the darkness she feels about herself. That these events are based on fact enables readers to accept the fairly quick turnaround in the villagers' racist attitudes. Wang's evocative illustrations add to the flavor of this quick, absorbing read.-B. Allison Gray, South Country Library, Bellport, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Yep leaves his oft-visited literary stomping grounds of San Francisco's Chinatown in this heartwarming historical tale based on real events. Ursula loves living in tiny Whistle, Mont., or what her Pa calls the Back of Beyond. She helps her parents run the stagecoach station, roams the wild hills and, after reading a penny dreadful that a stagecoach passenger leaves behind, invents a rollicking pirate adventure game with her friends. But everything changes after smallpox leaves her face deeply scarred. She retreats to her room: "Pirate Ursula was dead now. There was only Monster Ursula, and Monster Ursula did not go outside." When her parents hire a Chinese cook, he and Ursula find they share a sense of isolation, and gradually they become friends. Eventually, Ah Sam succeeds in coaxing Ursula out of her self-imposed exile when he invites his cousins to stage a circus. Ursula returns the favor: after a blizzard scuttles Ah Sam's plans to spend Chinese New Year in San Francisco, she rallies the whole town to plan an elaborate celebration of that holiday. Bolstered by themes of compassion, community and tolerance, this story is among Yep's most assured. With dry humor and a keen ear for dialogue, the author includes deft characterizations and offers a window onto Asian-American history and culture. Wang, who illustrated Yep's The Magic Paintbrush, contributes detailed b&w drawings that underscore the volume's more serious themes. Ages 8-10. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Ten-year-old Ursula discovers her face is permanently scarred by smallpox, and she becomes reclusive, hiding in her Montana home and refusing to see her friends. When her family's Chinese cook suffers from discrimination, Ursula overcomes her fears and helps her small town accept differences. Accompanied by black-and-white drawings, the story entertains despite its heavy-handed message. From HORN BOOK Fall 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A story taken from real life provides the foundation for a tale of healing through human interconnection. Ursula is a ten-year-old girl with a big imagination and a love for her small Montana town, finding enough happy magic at home by leading her pirate crew in fanciful adventures in between helping her Pa at his stagecoach station. But when she survives a smallpox scare only to be left with a pitted face, vanity replaces her ebullient spirit and she won't leave her room. Pa hires Ah Sam, a Chinese cook, to help feed the passengers when the stages arrive. Her "curiosity bump" is larger than her prejudice against him, and the two soon find they share a common loneliness as well as a common love of the circus. She begins once again to help in the kitchen, although she still won't show her face outdoors. She faces a turning point, however, when a mean-spirited stage passenger harasses Ah Sam, who cannot retaliate because of state law. Ursula decides she must cheer up the now ashamed cook, realizing that they all share what Indian Tom calls "the mark" of outsiders. One kindness leads to another as Ah Sam's circus relatives arrive to entertain the town with their special magic while Ursula is enlisted to back them up with music. Yep (Newbery Honor, Dragon's Gate, 1994), has applied his considerable skills to embellish a true story into a moving parable of how people help each other overcome suffering. The simple plot uses perfectly believable characterizations to discuss deceptively complex emotions and issues for those who would mine its lessons, but Ursula's own story of healing is rewarding enough for those who read from the younger child's point of view. (Fiction. 8-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 3-5. Ten-year-old Ursula, who lives with her parents at an early-twentieth-century Montana stagecoach stop, enjoys reading dime novels, dreams of seeing a circus, and plays pirates with her friends. Then she develops smallpox, which leaves her face pitted and scarred. Unable to risk the pity and teasing of others, she elects to hide away in her house, and not even the family's Chinese cook, Ah Sam, can coax her out. It takes a visit from Ah Sam's cousins, who produce a circus for the entire town, to bring Ursula back into the world. She, in turn, arranges for her own friends to put on a Chinese New Year celebration after the circus performers are stranded during a blizzard. Yep has based his novel on a true story, and his writing is, by turns, direct, humorous, and poignant. He doesn't gloss over the hardships faced by Chinese immigrants, but he clearly relished finding an upbeat incident to recount. Ursula and her friends will seem believable to young readers, and the descriptions of circus acts and Chinese New Year traditions are a plus. A pleasing classroom read-aloud and a useful supplementary reading for history and multicultural units. --Kay Weisman
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. xi |
| Chapter 1 The Back of Beyond | p. 1 |
| Chapter 2 Pirate Ursula | p. 5 |
| Chapter 3 At the Back of the Back of Beyond | p. 13 |
| Chapter 4 Ah Sam | p. 22 |
| Chapter 5 The Apprentice | p. 34 |
| Chapter 6 The Mark | p. 42 |
| Chapter 7 The Christmas Debt | p. 53 |
| Chapter 8 The Three Bears | p. 64 |
| Chapter 9 The Circus | p. 75 |
| Chapter 10 Snow | p. 86 |
| Chapter 11 The Magic | p. 96 |
| Chapter 12 New Year's | p. 103 |
| Afterword | p. 113 |
| Sweet and Low | p. 114 |