4Real Forums: The Wave (tsunami story)

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Topic: The Wave (tsunami story)

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MaryM
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Posted: March 18 2011 at 1:21am \| IP Logged

I don't remember exactly why I got this book a couple months ago. I stumbled on the title in a library search of Margaret Hodges books and thought it sounded interesting. I requested it, but it's been sitting here for over a month - I hadn't read it. I stumbled back on it this week and found it very fitting for a read about tsunamis, though it is referred to as a tidal wave (the term I grew up hearing).

It is about a wise old man in a Japanese coastal village, who after an earthquake, reads the signs of the ocean and knows a big wave is coming. No one else is aware or knows this will happen. It is the story of how he saves all the villagers. Very good. Especially poignant this week, knowing how many lives were lost and wishing they could have had more warning. So it is a combination of a well crafted tale and a bit of explanation of how this wave occurs. I think it would be very helpful to kids in talking about the tsunami.

The Wave - Margaret Hodges (1964)

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knowloveserve
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Posted: March 18 2011 at 9:10pm \| IP Logged

Good to note; thank you.

Another book regarding a tsunami is The Burning Rice Fields by Sara Bryant... actually the plot sounds almost identical: wise old man sees signs that no one else sees... comes up with a smart way to save the village.

It's interesting... my kids actually didn't put two and two together on WHY he did the seemingly irrational thing he did to alert the villagers but it provided good discussion.

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Ellie
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Cay Gibson
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Posted: March 18 2011 at 10:05pm \| IP Logged

I read this book aloud to Garrett and Chelsea about 3 years ago. We loved it.

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Cay Gibson
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MaryM
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Posted: March 21 2011 at 12:53pm \| IP Logged

knowloveserve wrote:

Another book regarding a tsunami is The Burning Rice Fields by Sara Bryant... actually the plot sounds almost identical: wise old man sees signs that no one else sees... comes up with a smart way to save the village.

Elllie, that is really interesting. It clearly is the "same" tale, and written close to the same time. I'm going to check this one out as well. In the book jacket summary, it says Margaret Hodges came across this Japanese tale by Lafcadio Hearns (Gleaning in Buddha-Fields, late 1890s) through Sara Cone Bryant's story. It looks like Sara Bryant's book is based on the same tale. Hodges book, illustrated by Blair Lent was a 1965 Caldecott Honor Book.

And here is the link to Sara Cone Bryant's book - The Burning Rice Fields and you can listed to an mp3 of it here

Also based on Hearns' tale: The Burning of the Rice Stacks - Taeko Kondo

These are all based on the story of Goryo Hamaguchi, Japanese soy sauce tycoon who allegedly saved a Japanese village in the 1850's by burning rice stacks.

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Mary M. in Denver

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