BRONZE AND SUNFLOWER by Cao Wenxuan is tells a timeless story of tragedy and friendship during China’s Cultural Revolution.

Beautifully translated from Chinese, this story of rural Chinese life follows two children who overcome hardship to form a deep friendship. When Sunflower becomes an orphan, she’s taken in by the poorest family in the village. Her new brother Bronze has been traumatized and doesn’t speak. Despite their shared tragedies, a deep friendship blooms reflecting the power of family. The book concludes with an historical note and author’s note.

Librarians will find this quiet, middle grade book appealing to children who enjoy historical fiction, Asian literature, and stories of friendship set in rural settings.

Published by Candlewick on March 14, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Bronze and Sunflower is set in communist China during Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). The goal of the cultural Revolution was to eliminate traditional Chinese life and thought, to replace it with communist ideology and get rid of any opponents. Artists and other intellectual were sent to remote Cadre Schools, where they did heavy manual labor during the day, and attended political re-education meetings at night.

Sunflower, 7, and her father have been living in the country, in a Cadre School for a while. Her father is an artist, a sculptor, well-known for his beautiful sunflowers cast in bronze. Sunflower is the only child at the school and very lonely. Since she doesn’t go to school, she often watches the children across the river playing and laughing. When her father dies unexpectedly, women from the Cadre School take Sunflower across the river, to the small village of Damadai, to see if anyone there would take her in.

Only Bronze’s family, the poorest in the village, are willing to accept Sunflower and make her their own. Bronze, a few years older than Sunflower and just as lonely, hasn’t spoken since he was 5 and witnessed what was to him a traumatic event.

Bronze and Sunflower are soon inseparable, seeming to understand each other without the need to speak. Over time, the now-siblings and their loving, but poor family, endure and survive many hardships such as famine, locusts, bitter cold winters, and a fire that destroys their home. The children share not just friendship, but many adventures and good times, as well, like punting little boats on the river, riding to school together on Bronze’s water buffalo, even though only Sunflower is a student, Bronze letting Sunflower sit on his shoulders so that she is high enough see the circus over everyone else's head, even working together as a family making reed shoes to sell in the January market to pay for Sunflowers schooling or grandmother Nainai's medical needs.

Bronze and Sunflower is a beautifully written story about the many sacrifices that were made by Bronze's family when they decided to take in Sunflower, how they lived poor, but with great dignity and love, and how they continued to do that even when forced to make the greatest sacrifice of all.

Chinese life during the cultural revolution is not a usual subject for a children’s book, but Cao has managed to present a picture of rural life that neither sugarcoats nor romanticizes it. In fact, he has produced such a heartwarming story that it has a feeling of timelessness about it despite the time it is actually set in, mainly because Mao’s China takes a backseat to the traditional values of family that the book really demonstrates.

Cao grew up during the 1960s and 1970s and experienced China at that time first hand, which gives his novel a real feeling of authenticity. His descriptions, though beautifully rendered, are often heartbreaking at the same time.

Bronze and Sunflower is a large book, 400 pages long. It is a story of day to day survival, so there is not really a big central conflict. I have to wonder if it will appeal to young readers as much as it appeals to adults. My 12 year old self would have loved getting immersed in the lives of Bronze and Sunflower, but I didn’t grow up with as many distractions as kids have today (video games, screens, instant gratification, etc. I’m not putting these things down, just pointing out how life have become faster). Though I highly recommend it for its thematic portrayals community, family, loyalty, and poverty.

One a personal note: my Kiddo has been home visiting this and when I asked her if her husband’s parents, who both grew up in the midst of the cultural revolution, ever talk about it, she said no, never. They refuse to say anything, but her husband’s grandparents did tell her how hard life was in those days. I’m guessing, they would have really appreciated Bronze and Sunflower.

Bronze and Sunflower won the 2016 Hans Christian Anderson award and was translated from Mandarin by Helen Wang, who won the 2017 Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation for it.

You can find out more about Cao Wenxuan in a New York Times interview HERE

And Zoe at Playing by the Book has a wonderfully informative interview with Helen Wang HERE

If an interest in translated children’s Chinese books has been kindled, you might be interested in Helen Wang’s blog Chinese Books for Young Readers

Classroom and Home School teachers can find a useful PDF discussion guide HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

While meant for children, “Bronze and Sunflower” is a beautifully written book about the cultural revolution in China during the 1960s-70s that any age group can enjoy and learn from. The culture becomes alive, helped by the fact that it is translated into English. Everything rings true and authentic. I wish there were more books this good about other cultures. Highly recommended.

China's Cultural Revolution (1960's-1970's) dramatically changed the lives of many city dwellers. Academics, artists and office workers were among those sent to Cadre Schools (labor camps). A seven year old city girl named Sunflower traveled to the Cadre School with her father, a renowned sculptor famous for his bronze sunflowers. Now living at the Cadre School, he was a team member sent to cut reeds and create crop fields and fish ponds. Nightly, he must attend political meetings. Sunflower was unsupervised and lonely. Across the river, rural villagers were impoverished but the children seemed happy. Sunflower noticed a small boat and decided to go across the river to the village of Damaidi. She soon realized she had no oar or pole and drifted down the river until she was rescued by village boy Bronze and his buffalo.

Everyday now, Bronze would entertain Sunflower from his side of the river, standing on his head and making her laugh. Life can change on a dime and so it was for Sunflower when her father drowned. The aunties at the Cadre School determined that Sunflower needed a family to care for her and traveled across the river to find her one.

Bronze was a mysterious child who lived in his own world. At age five, a reed fire burned in the village. Baba, Mama, grandmother Nainai and Bronze were able to escape with only one animal, a buffalo. Having crossed the river and been forced to stay in freezing wet clothes, Bronze developed a high fever and became mute. Now the village children teased him and teachers at school would not let him attend. His spirits were often lifted by Nainai and his buffalo. When the aunties arrived in Damaini and asked the villagers who was willing to welcome Sunflower into their family, Bronze and his family, the poorest family in Damaidi, volunteered to raise her as Bronze's adoptive sister. Nainai convinced Baba and Mama that each family member could eat less so there would be enough food for Sunflower as well.

Bronze and Sunflower become inseparable. They buoyed each other up as the family went through hard times including an attack of locusts. Utmost in the minds of the family was raising enough money to cover school fees, without which, school was inaccessible. Bronze came up with an idea. He would bring home the finest reeds to be woven into waterproof reed shoes. Over the winter, the family could make one hundred pairs to be sold to raise money for school costs. Then, one child, either Bronze or Sunflower, would be able to attend school.

"Bronze and Sunflower" written by Hans Christian Anderson Prize Recipient Cao Wenxuan is about the effects of poverty, deprivation and hardship and how these challenges are handled by familial love, devotion and understanding. Matriarch Nainai is always at the forefront encouraging and sacrificing for the betterment of the family. The tome translated by Helen Wang will hopefully set the stage for more translated Chinese children's literature by Cao Wenxuan. Children from seven to seventy seven will enjoy "Bronze and Sunflower".

Thank you Candlewick Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Bronze and Sunflower".

Simple, sweet and satisfying are the words I would use to describe this book. There are seven books in this series, and I haven't found plans to translate the rest from Mandarin. I'm hoping this sells well and they appear. This story is set in the 1960's- 70's during the Cultural Revolution in China. Sunflower's father is sent to live in the Cadre School (actually a work camp) by Mao and Sunflower goes with him and is the only child in camp. The adults at the camp work all day outdoors and attend political meetings each night. Sunflower spends a lot of time alone and likes the to watch the children in the nearby village. The people in the community have no idea why these city people moved out here and why they work such long hours.

Sunflower wanders around all day unsupervised and one-day a mute boy named Bronze saves her after she gets in a boat that accidently drifts down the river. The story is told so simply that although it should be a scary scene it isn't. Sunflower stays calm even after she is not rescued by the first person to see that she is in trouble.

When her father tragically dies Sunflower is adopted by the poorest family in the village and Bronze becomes her brother. I don't really want to share any of the rest of the story in this review because it will be so much more satisfying as a reader to discover it page by page. I'm pretty sure this is going to be an award winner for 2017.

Although set in a definite time period I felt like this was a classic fable/fairy tale story that could have happened at any point in time.

I enjoyed this and think it would make an excellent read aloud.

I read a DRC in exchange for an honest review.