Author:  Huynh Quang Nhuong

Illustrator:  Vo-Dinh Mai

Discussion Guide by:   Pat Bowes

Setting: Central Highlands of Vietnam

Main Characters:
Huynh Quong Nhuong
Parents
7 sisters
Grandmother
Cousin
Tchen - neighbor
Hung -- cousin’s friend
Minh - farmer
Mrs. Hong
Lan - daughter of Mrs. Hong
Trung - engaged to Lan
 

Topics:
Everyday life in Vietnam
Animals of Vietnam
Communism
Vietnamese folklore, superstitions, traditions
Storytelling
Family
Disabled veterans
Imprinting
Nonfiction
 

Notes:
: The 16 stories in this book are true.
: Be sure to read “About the Author” to learn that Huynh Quang Nhuong is a disabled
  South Vietnamese veteran.  Make the point that American soldiers and families were
  not the only ones to suffer.

Prereading:  Based on the title, what do you think this book is about?

1) Research Communism and write about what life would be like if you lived in a
    Communist form a government.

2) Locate Vietnam on a map.  Research Vietnam and write 3 interesting facts about it.

3) From what point of view is this book written?  How do you know?

4) What role did the water buffalo play in the rice fields?  Why don’t our farmers use
    water buffaloes?

5) Why did the family name the water buffalo “Tank”?

6) Why did Huynh have such a special friendship with his cousin, who is much older?

7) What would have happened to Tchen if he had not returned the bird that sang “The
    Blue Danube”?

8) How do the villagers feel about wild hogs?

9) A female otter tries to protect her young from Huynh.  Do you think it was right for him to take the three otter cubs?  Why or why not?

10) “Unfortunately, when I caught the cub its eyes had already opened.  If it had just
      been born and its eyes had not yet opened, we would have been the first beings it
      saw, and it would have considered us its parents and remained with us for the rest
      of its life.”  This is a process called “imprinting” that was studied by a scientist
      named Konrad Lorenz.  Research and learn more about imprinting.  Do you think
      imprinting really works?  In the case of the otter, if it saw Huynh first, then a year
      later saw an adult otter, would it stay with Huynh or go to the otter?

11) Why did the grandmother tell a story about a horse snake?

1) Should Huynh’s grandmother have fought the rascal, or should she have found
     some other peaceful means of solving her problem?  What would you have done in
     a situation like that?

2) In The Little Altar on the Roadside, the bride is accused of killing her husband and
     may be hanged.  What is different about the laws of this village versus our laws?

3) Why did the old lady cry at the sight of the dead monkey?

4) How did the peddler train monkeys?  Was it right for the peddler to train monkeys
     the way he did?

5) Why did the birds fly back to the cage at 6:00?

6) What is the significance of the author choosing to end the book with the story about
    Tank?  Why didn’t the author have that story earlier in the book?

7) Using a scale of 1 through 20, with 20 being superior, rate this book and provide
     support for your rating.