Rating: ****4stars

Michelle Lord, illustrated by Shino Arihara,
A Song for Cambodia
Lee & Low Books, 2008.

Non-Fiction Storybook

Ages 8-10

A picture story book that operates on several different levels, but one that has a profound message of hope and of the healing power of music. The book tells the story of Arn, a young boy growing up in Cambodia surrounded by his family and music, whose life is utterly changed and his community torn apart by the invasion of the Khmer Rouge in 1975. Along with other children Arn is sent to a work camp to a desperate life of hardship planting rice. They work in silence until one day the soldiers ask for volunteers to join a musical group to play marching songs. Music becomes the boy’s means of survival and later a chance for healing when he is rescued from a refugee camp and taken to America. The story is a true one and today Arn Chorn-Pond continues his efforts to revive Cambodian arts and music. A remarkable story that encompasses history, music and the power of hope.

Sue Unstead
March 2009, No. 175

Guide to the rating system:
***** 5 stars, unmissable
**** 4 stars, very good
*** 3 stars, good
** 2 stars, fair
* 1 star, poor