Check out this great listen on Audible.com. He wore a ceremonial white kimono with brilliant red wings – the wings he usually wore only into battle. He brought the blade down with blinding speed and chopped Koji’s head clean off his body. But when this ceremony was finished his uncle would be dead and gone. Instead of making him feel better, the grin deepened Toyo’s sense of panic. Alan M. Gratz. Samurai Shortstop, Book by Alan M. Gratz (Paperback) | www.chapters.indigo.ca. But he grieves for his uncle, a samurai who sacrificed … Publish your book … Samurai Shortstop by Alan Gratz is a Coming of Age Story focusing on young Toyo Shimada, a first-year at Ichiko High School in the year 1890, around the start of the Meiji period in Japan. Samurai Shortstop. It opens a realistic door to Japan during the transition to the modern age and the end of the Samurai. Tokyo, 1890. Toyo backed away, unable to meet Koji’s eyes. Amazon.com: Samurai Shortstop (9780142410998): Gratz, Alan M.: Books. Koji’s face was a mask of calm. See all 2 … You have successfully joined Alan's newsletter list! Toyo watched carefully as his uncle prepared to kill himself. I beg those present here today to bear witness to my death.”. Throughout all the preparations he had fought to focus on something else – anything else. “Soon you will do the same for me.”. “Heeeeeeeeeeeiaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Sotaro cried. Samurai Shortstop Kindle Edition. Growing up in Tokyo in the 1890s, sixteen-year-old Toyo is struggling to find a happy medium between the traditional ways of the samurai … Whether he saw something in the distance or not Toyo didn’t know, but the faraway look stayed in Uncle Koji’s eyes as he plunged the wakizashi into his belly. Why educators should appear on-screen for instructional videos; Feb. 3, 2021. When Koji had sliced all the way across his stomach, he turned the wakizashi in the wound and pulled it diagonally up through his chest. The Flowers of Edo burn bright and fast None of his strength, none of his compassion, none of his spirit would remain. indigo. Tokyo, 1890. Koji bowed to Toyo, the ceremony’s only witness. “Fast moving, culturally respectful, and flat-out engrossing, this should lead off the next book talk on sports or historical fiction.”, —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Starred Review, “A memorable chronicle of boys’ inhumanity to boys, and a testament to enduring values in a time of social change.”, The New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age 2007, 2017 National Network of State Teachers of the Year Social Justice Book List, Learn More About Ichiko and Japanese Baseball, ALA 2007 Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults, 2006 Washington Post Top Ten Books for Children. Returning the bow from his knees, Toyo touched his head to the ground to show his great respect for his uncle. Flip to back Flip to front. Toyo is caught up in the competitive world of boarding school, and must prove himself to make the team in a new sport called besuboru. The head rolled to a stop inches from Toyo, the eyes staring up at him. Get news and updates about the stuff Alan writes! You're awesome. The point and the edge of the blade were razor sharp. Almost overnight, Japan transformed itself from a feudal society into an industrial nation. Toyo’s uncle was clean shaven and recently bathed, and he wore his hair in a tight top-knot like the samurai of old. Commodore Perry sailed into Yokohama harbor in 1853, and only a few years later, in 1870, baseball was introduced into Japan, along with many other Western influences. You have successfully joined Alan's newsletter list! Winning as a team is the theme of this book. When its ruling Shogun warlords were overthrown in 1867, Japan awoke from a medieval dream to find itself three centuries behind the rest of the world. The Emperor, in his divine graciousness, has granted me the honor of committing seppuku rather than die at the hands of his executioner. The suspense of the book is great, a cliffhanger and a page turner. In 1890 Japan was in the Meiji Restoration period, transitioning from a feudal society to an industrial nation. But today was no day for jokes. Samurai Shortstop is a commendable book. $8.99. “For my part in the samurai uprising at Ueno Park,” Toyo’s uncle said officially, “I, Koji Shimada, have been sentenced to die. Free shipping for many products! Tokyo, 1890: High school can be brutal, even in turn-of-the-century Japan.From his first day at boarding school, Toyo Shimada sees how upperclassmen make a … (shelved 17 times as samurai) … Toyo finds a perfect match with bushido and baseball – but will his father ever accept an American game that stands for everything he despises? Add the Audible book for a reduced … When he was finished, the samurai opened his eyes and put his hands on his stomach, almost as if he were saying goodbye to it. An age restriction I would put on this book would be 11+, because it could be a challenging read for younger ages. Black suits replaced kimonos, trains replaced horses, and salarymen replaced samurai. 9-12 Genre. Excerpted from Samurai Shortstop by Alan Gratz by permission of Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Putnam. Uncle Koji closed his eyes, touched the flat part of the blade to his forehead, and set the wakizashi in front of him on the mat. As his father wiped the blood from the katana with a piece of paper, Toyo commanded his legs to stand. Samurai struggled to find a place within this rapidly evolving culture. Toyo is caught up in the competitive world of boarding school, and must prove himself to make the team in a new sport called besuboru .
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