Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, A.D. 595 [Hardcover]

Sheri Holman (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

THE ROYAL DIARIES is pleased to introduce historical novelist, Sheri Holman, who makes her debut on the list with a captivating story of fourteen-year-old Princess Sondok from seventh-century Korea.

During the seventh-century, the land which is now Korea was fraught with political and religious intrigue. The country was split into Three Kingdoms, each fighting for supremacy: Silla, Koguryo, and Paekche. Besides the warring kingdoms, there are three religions in conflict: Shamanism, the ancient female-dominated faith wherein Shamanist priestesses wield great power at court, foretelling the future, performing important national rituals, and healing sickness; Buddhism, the contemplative State religion; and Confucianism, a recent import from powerful China.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-Set in ancient Silla, part of modern-day South Korea, this diary follows the life of Princess Sondok. Although little is known about the subject's childhood, Holman has written a discerning novel to reflect what life may have been like for the princess who became the first ruling Queen of Silla in A.D. 632. When the book opens, the protagonist has just become guardian of the ancestor jar. She writes notes to her dead grandmother, describing activities in the royal court or asking advice. These are the diary entries. What is known about Queen Sondok's reign is that Buddhism flourished, and that she built the oldest standing astronomical observatory in Asia. Thus, Holman has created an intelligent, spiritual princess with a passion for astronomy. The powerful influence of China and Confucianism in Silla is revealed through the fictitious character of Lin Fang, a Chinese Ambassador who becomes Sondok's teacher. She feels torn between the ancient, feminine practice of shamanism, the contemporary ideas of Buddhism, and the infiltrating authority of Confucianism in her country but she learns to take what is useful from each practice to find a balance for herself and the country she will soon reign. A well-written story that will inspire young readers to learn more about other wise women from Asia.
Be Astengo, Alachua County Library, Gainesville, FL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 187 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc. (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439165865
• ISBN-13: 978-0439165860
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #286,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book of astronomic quality!, August 27, 2002

By 

Meaghan Good "meggilyweggily" (Venedocia, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, A.D. 595 (Hardcover)

In ancient Asia, females, as a general rule, were not allowed to rule. They could only be the wives of kings and emperors. However, in Silla in 595, it's a girl who is heir apparent to the throne of Silla (now called South Korea). Fourteen-year-old Sondok has no brothers and her mother is too old to have any more children. Her father's brothers are all dead and they didn't have any sons either. Thus, it is she who must inherit the throne.

Sondok thinks she's up to the job. She comes across as forthright and intelligent as she writes in her diary. She's especially fascinated by astronomy, and displays her skill at it by correctly predicting an eclipse. Unfortunately this earns her the wrath of the Chinese ambassador, also an astronomer, who predicted the wrong date. "Astronomy is not for women," Lin Fang says. "Go do something female like look after silkworms." Sondok tries to win him over, but he is unmoved. Worse yet, her father agrees with the ambassador and forbids his daughter to study the moon and stars!

This is the principal conflict in this narrative. There are some others: Sondok's father casts aside his old wife and takes a new, younger one whom he hopes will bear him a son. Sondok is in love with someone whom she cannot marry, as he is below her station, and when he goes off to be a Buddhist monk she wonders if she'll ever see him again. She wonders a lot about religions: Korean Buddhism vs. Chinese Confucianism.

Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars is one of my favorite books in the royal diaries, entertaining and quite historically accurate. I'd recommend it to young girls nine and up, especially those interested in Korean culture and astronomy.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sondok: Princess of the Moon & Stars,Korea, 595 A.D., May 26, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, A.D. 595 (Hardcover)

This Book is about Sondok,Princess of Silla(present day South Korea). Sondok has a lot of troubles for a 14 year old girl.Her mother becomes a nun and leaves her because she failed to produce a male heir. Sondok has a dream to build a observetory. But because of her gender, it is forbidden. Oh,and she is also the future Queen of Silla. Sondok was the first Queen to rule in her own right.
If you like this book I Guarantee you will like Lady of Ch'iao Kuo, Warrior of the South, Southern China, 531 A.D.
This book is about Princess Red Bird. She is 16 years old. She is Princess of The Hesian People in southern China.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sondok, Princess of the Moon and Stars, May 19, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, A.D. 595 (Hardcover)

This is a book about a 14 year old Korean princess who, because of her mothers failure to bear a son, is the heir to her kingdom's throne. Sondok has a dream of building a great stargazing tower for she has a love of astronamy, although, because of her gender her father forbids her to measure or calculate the stars. From the haughty Chinese Lord Lin Fang who comes to teach her and her sisters the wisdom of Confucsism to her fear of the spirit possesed mudangs, this book is filled with adventure and the thoughts of a girl who is easy to relate to. This is a fabulous book.