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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 952.025092
EAN num: 9780688174859
ISBN number: 068817485X
Label: HarperCollins
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 80
Printing Date: 2003-01
Publishing house: HarperCollins
Age index: Ages 9-12
Release Date: January 07, 2003
Sale Popularity Level: 72062
Studio: HarperCollins
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Any person who leaves
the country to go to another
and later returns
will be put to death.
This was the law in Japan in the early 1800s. When fourteen-year-old Manjiro, working on a fishing boat to help support his family, was shipwrecked three hundred miles away from his homeland, he was heartbroken to think that he would never again be able to go home. So when an American whaling boat rescued him, Manjiro decided to do what no other Japanese person had ever done: He went to America, where he received an education and took part in events that eventually made him a hero in the Land of the Rising Sun.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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The illustrations and story are good. However, I was expecting a short novel or at least a "chapter book". This was aimed at young children.
Rated by buyers 
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This book should be read by every American. It is a tremendous story of hard work and commitment as well as the right person being in the right place at the right time. Interesting and full of adventure, it's a TRUE story that illumines America's history and helps the reader understand the seeds of the global economy we have today. Don't miss this story--you won't find it in many history books or taught in today's classrooms. Educate yourself on true American history while enjoying this intriguing book by Rhoda Blumberg, an engaging author.
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My girls, 6 and 8, couldn't wait to continue reading this book each day. It is so much more than a biography and is very readable. Besides an indepth look at the life and times of Manjiro, AKA John Mung, it is a wealth of information about Japan, whaling, and culture (and cultural change) without a textbook feel. I agree that it should be made into a movie (if it hasn't and I just don't know about it). This book is infused with many grey and white photographs, paintings, prints, and drawings -- including sketches by John Mung. If using this in a classroom or homeschool environment, this is a great jumping-off point toward such varied subjects as Moby Dick and whaling, samurai, Commodore Perry, ships, Japanese history and culture, Hawaii, and even the California Gold Rush. This was riveting and gives the reader (even young ones!) a deeper understanding of Japan and the times surrounding Manjiro/John Mung's life. Pair this up with How to Be a Samurai Warrior (How to Be); You Wouldn't Want to Sail on a 19th Century Whaling Ship!: Grisly Tasks You'd Rather Not Do (You Wouldn't Want to...);Step Into... Ancient Japan (The Step Into Series);Exploration into Japan (Exploration Into); or Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun
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Shipwrecked (Book Review)
A boy's manhood is at stake. Manjiro gets marooned on an island by a deadly storm. He is saved but by completely different people, Knowing he can never return to his home. He travels to America and learns English. Then one day Manjiro decides to go back and is thrown in prison. Later he gets promoted to samurai and lives happily. Shipwrecked is a fun to read nonfictional book. I would recommend this book for people who like reading stories about the sea and Japan.
Manjiro was always independent and had to be or his family would face the consequences. He started being even more independent when he looked out for his friends on the island by looking for food and scanning the terrain. Manjiro also decided by himself what to do on his own was when he decided to go to school and learn even though he was sixteen. He was the very first one to ever think about going back to Japan even when he knew the consequences. So he went to get gold in California To raise money to go back.
Manjiro was unique in many ways. He thought differently than anybody else. He somehow beat the odds when he came back to Japan when he didn't get executed by his government. In that time Japan was an isolated country that killed anyone who entered the country. If you left you would never be able to come back, but in Manjiro's case he was able to. Instead he got promoted to samurai. Manjiro beat the odds in education also. He learned English in a matter of months when he never even went to school before in his own country! If you don't think that's unique you're crazy! He also took care of older people when he was only a young boy. When he took care of his family and took care of his older friends on the island 300 miles away from the Japanese shore are two examples.
Manjiro persevered all throughout his life. Especially through school and his very own survival. The ship that rescued them off the island wouldn't have found them without Manjiro's perseverance because when the ship was turning away he kept waving until he got the ship's attention. That's one of the ways he saved his life. When people weren't giving him enough pay for his work he didn't give up on his family. Instead he ventured off to find a new one and worked harder. Last but not least he persevered all the way through school. Everybody started recognizing his intelligence on the very first day of school. Even Manjiro was faced with all those trials when he came back he never quit and so he was the very first person to be promoted from peasant to samurai.
The nonfictional book, Shipwrecked, is really fun to read. People who enjoy reading books about Japan and the open sea would surely love reading this book. Manjiro was an independent person from a very young age. He was very unique in many ways. His best trait was perseverance. Manjiro never did deserve all the plight he faced. If I was Manjiro to be honest I would have never gotten off the island and make it through all the events that happened in his life.
D. Bennett
Rated by buyers -
This is one of the greatest true adventure stories of all time. Hollywood should consider making this into a movie. I expecially like how Manjiro tries so many different things and seems to succeed at them all, including getting along with those around him.
Charles L. Hooper, coauthor Making Great Decisions in Business and Life
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