Sign of the Chrysanthemum (Paperback)

by Katherine Paterson (Author) "Muna had not climbed the hill to the burial grounds since the last death among the serfs more than two years before, so that when..." (more)
Key Phrases: sandal shop, New Year, Red Dog, Rashomon Gate (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In the Newbery Medalist's first book, Muna searches for his father, a samurai warrior, in 12th century Japan. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
"A powerful and fascinating picture of the harsh realities as well as the beauty and excitement of feudal Kyoto." -- -- School Library Journal --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Avon Books (April 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380492881
• ISBN-13: 978-0380492886
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,574,658 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A heart-warming, captivating read., December 2, 2004

By	Jane Frances (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sign of the Chrysanthemum (Harper Trophy Book) (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book and read it in about two hours (it is a short book). I am a Chinese lady teaching 12th grade English and I am sure all my students will enjoy this book, and also any grades from 9th onwards, because of its universal themes of search for identity, how it encapsulates the adventurous spirit of Feudal Japan, and its simple language which manages to be so evocative at the same time. For all those who didn't enjoy reading or teaching the book, may I suggest that you let your students watch some extremely popular Japanese Animation series about Feudal Japan like Rurouni Kenshin and Inuyasha before reading this book. Katherine Paterson's book reads exactly like a a great Anime series and I could picture the whole thing in my mind, background music and scenery included, and it was beautiful. So beautiful. Anyone with even a vague knowledge of feudal era Anime, or Japanese Culture and History of the Heian period will realise how accurately Paterson has portrayed the Japanese ideals of 'honour' and 'family'. She also deliberately tones down her writing style to match the simple sentence structures and restrained style of many East Asian writers, and this would be useful to know when comparing this book stylistically with her other works.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Pedal of the Chrysanthemun, December 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sign of the Chrysanthemum (Harper Trophy Book) (Paperback)

The book starts off with a boy named Muna, the nameless one, whos mother just passed away. He now wants to look for his warrior father so that he would be able to be highly respected and change his name of his 14th birthday to a name more proper for a man, but the only thing he knows about his father is that he has a chrysanthemun tattoo and a he is a Heike warrior.
I thought this book was quite good. It had many dialogues, a good storyline, and some action. Most of all, I liked how the book was easy to understand.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sign of the Chrysanthemum, September 3, 2001

A Kid's Review

I think this was a great book. It was about a boy named Muna. Muna has never known his father because he left before Muna was born. So, after Muna's mother died, Muna went in search of his father. Muna meets many news people along the way and lives with a swordsmith. you have to read the rest of the book to find out what happens next. But, I would highly recommend it, especially to seventh graders studying fuedal Japan. I give this book two thumbs up!!!