Project Mulberry [Hardcover]

Linda Sue Park (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Julia Song and her friend Patrick would love to win a blue ribbon, maybe even two, at the state fair. They’ve always done projects together, and they work well as a team. This time, though, they’re having trouble coming up with just the right plan. Then Julia’s mother offers a suggestion: They can raise silkworms, as she did when she was a girl in Korea.

Patrick thinks it’s a great idea. Of course there are obstacles—for example, where will they get mulberry leaves, the only thing silkworms eat?—but nothing they can’t handle.

Julia isn’t so sure. The club where kids do their projects is all about traditional American stuff, and raising silkworms just doesn’t fit in. Moreover, the author, Ms. Park, seems determined to make Julia’s life as complicated as possible, no matter how hard Julia tries to talk her out of it.

In her first novel with a contemporary setting, Linda Sue Park delivers a funny, lively story that illuminates both the process of writing a novel and the meaning of growing up American.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 4-7–When Julia Song moves with her family to Plainfield, IL, where they are the only Korean family in town, she becomes good friends with her neighbor Patrick. They have joined the Wiggle (Work-Grow-Give-Live) Club, and they need a project for the state fair. Animal husbandry is their category of choice, but what can they raise in their suburban neighborhood? When Julia's mother suggests silkworms, Patrick is enthusiastic, but Julia is not. Raising silkworms is so Korean, and she wants a real American project. Still, she agrees to the idea. When she realizes that to get the silk, the worms must die, her anguish clearly indicates how much her attitude has changed. At the end of almost every chapter, Park and her young protagonist discuss the story inside the story: where the author's ideas came from, how the characters take on a life of their own, how questions raised in the book continue to percolate inside some readers' minds when it is finished. This lively interaction provides an interesting parallel to the silkworm project as it moves from idea to reality. Julia, a feisty seventh grader, concludes that it is important to know what you don't know, an insight that she has as she grapples with her mother's attitude toward blacks. Park appropriately leaves Julia wondering what's behind her mother's prejudices in certain situations. As the novel progresses, Patrick and Julia negotiate the ups and downs of their friendship, and Julia begins to show a gradual change in attitude toward her younger brother. This skillfully written tale will have wide appeal.–Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 5-8. There are big issues in Park's latest novel--conservation, prejudice, patriotism, biology, and more. But the Newbery-winning writer never allows them to swamp the story; in fact, it's the compelling characters and their passionate differences and commitments that drive the plot. Julia Song doesn't want to do a silkworm project for the state fair. It's too Korean; she wants something American. But she becomes interested in caring for the eggs, the caterpillars, and the moths and then in sewing the silk thread. Kind, elderly Mr. Dixon donates the mulberry leaves the silkworms eat, but why is Mom against Julia spending time with him? Is it because he is black? The first-person narrative alternates with lively interchanges between Julia ("Me") and the author ("Ms. Park") about writing the story. The author's intrusion may distract some readers, but most children will be hooked by the funny, insightful conversations. There's no easy resolution, but the unforgettable family and friendship story, the quiet, almost unspoken racism, and the excitement of the science make this a great cross-curriculum title. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books (April 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618477861
• ISBN-13: 978-0618477869
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #371,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Linda Sue Park is the author of the Newbery Medal book A Single Shard, many other novels, several picture books, and most recently a book of poetry: Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems). She lives in Rochester, New York, with her family, and is now a devoted fan of the New York Mets. For more infromation visit www.lspark.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Linda Sue Park goes crashing through the third wall, October 27, 2005

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Project Mulberry (Hardcover)

As of this moment in time the number of Linda Sue Park books I have read in my life amount to the following: two. This is rather shameful. If you're a children's librarian (as I am) and your job is to read and know all the hip young authors winning medals hither and thither (and thither and yon) then at the VERY least you could bring yourself to read the most recent Newbery winners. Ms. Park won a Newbery for "A Single Shard", and I have not read it yet. What I have read is her remarkable picture book, "The Firekeeper's Son". THAT, my friends, is a great book. So when I was handed a copy of "Project Mulberry", I dove into it with zero hesitation. The result was a bit confusing. What we have here is a clever book by a clever author who seems to be hooking far too many themes together all at the same time. Fortunately, you can appreciate this book without necessarily loving it. At least I could.

Julia and Patrick are best friends. Have been since the moment they met, actually. Together, the two of them have done all sorts of interesting projects for school together. Patrick's the ideas man and Julia's the person who likes to do the labor. In fact, these kids never had a single fight until they decided to do a WGGL project together. WGGL is a kind of 4-H for city kids and Julia and Patrick have chosen to do something with "animal husbandry". Finding the right kind of animal, however, isn't as easy as they'd hoped. When Mrs. Song, Julia's mother, suggests that they do a silkworm project Patrick is thrilled. Julia is not. Both her parents are Korean immigrants and their daughter has always shied away from things that strike her as "too Korean". Now, however, she's stuck with a mighty difficult and complex project. It will take some serious discussions with Patrick, a little reassessment of the soul, and some fights with the author (tastefully done, of course) before Julia comes to terms with something she doesn't want to understand.

This would have been a pretty straightforward tween tale had Park not decided to explain a little bit about the writer's process as directly as possible. "Project Mulberry" alternates chapters that detail Julia's silkworm struggles with 2-3 page sections in which Julia, the character, berates and talks to Linda Sue Park one-on-one. The result will be jarring to some, fascinating to others. It's as if Ms. Park has preempted any and all questions received on her book tours by putting them in the mouth of her main character here. When things go badly for Julia, she makes her opinions on such matters loud and clear towards her creator. For the most part, this conceit works well. It's almost a kind of "Sophie's World" for kids (in that a written character is aware of her state). The problem with it, though, is that the Julia who speaks to Ms. Park doesn't seem to be the same Julia that is working on the silkworm project. The Julia that belittles her creator and complains almost without cease seems to be a kind of bratty counterpart to her living-and-learning self. I did not like the Julia I met between the chapters. I liked the Julia who was trying to sort out her life very much.

A couple things save this novel from being yet another I-did-a-project-and-learned-something-about-myself type book. For one thing, Ms. Park gives Julia a racist mother. For a book in which racism isn't even particularly the focus of the story, this underlying subtext gives the tale a bit of nuance. Mrs. Song isn't a bad person. Julia even speculates (with Patrick's help) that perhaps her mother first met black people in the form of American soldiers back in Korea. This otherwise unassuming feature in Julia's life, however, offers a bit of complexity to an otherwise straightforward family interaction. Plus it makes for good writing. Duh.

By the way, I was utterly baffled by the Author's Note included at the back of the book. Ms. Park apparently makes reference to such classic children's books as, "The Mouse and His Child" and "When Zachary Beaver Came to Town". If any of you can figure out how these books are referenced then a tip of the hat to you all. Personally, I couldn't find so much as a sly reference to these two books. If any of you know where they are, please let me know forthwith.

Personally, I felt that the alternating Julia v. Author sections were more of a distraction than a boon to "Project Mulberry". Just the same, the book is a fun read and a truly fascinating look at the life cycle of a little remarked upon creepy-crawly. If you happen to know any kids that are particular science buffs (natural science, that is) then see if you can't finagle this book onto their reading lists. A great companion to fellow environmentalist title, "Hoot", by Carl Hiassen.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for readers and writers!, March 7, 2006

By 

Julia L. Boyce "preschoolteachr" (Foster, RI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Project Mulberry (Hardcover)

I purchased this book due to the fact that I would be attending a conference at which Ms. Park is speaking (I like to get an idea of the presentors background). I knew that Ms. Park is talented, but never did I expect to enjoy it so very very much. As an author I found the entries between the chapters to be facinating. What a great idea. And the story itself was amazing as well. I can not say enough about the whole package other than READ IT! Can't wait to meet you Ms. Park! Julia (not Julia Song, but still Julia)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique Format Elevates this Book to a New Level, March 7, 2006

By 

Lane Young "Teacher and Librarian" (Highland Park, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Project Mulberry (Hardcover)

Julia and Patrick are best friends in this book set in Plainfield, IL. The two are working together on a silkworm project that they hope will be displayed at the state fair. Unfortunately, Julia, whose parents came to the United States from South Korea, is less then enthusiastic about the project because she feels that silkworms are too "Korean" and so she attempts to sabotage their project. What makes this book unique is not only Julia's voice, but also the discussions between Julia and the author in between chapters. Any aspiring writer would do well to read this book as Park offers excellent insight into the writing process, while those who just enjoy a good story will also be satisfied.