Thirteen-year-old Yoshi, member of the serving class in 1853 Japan, dreams of becoming a samurai warrior, but his dreams are destined to remain just that, until an American navy commodore arrives with four steamships in Edo Bay (present-day Tokyo). A rapid chain of events involving a Prince and the Pauper-style identity swap, a new job as hawker of illustrations of the American "barbarians," and a chance encounter with a cabin boy from one of the ships sets Yoshi--and Jack, the ship's boy--on an adventure that will change the course of their lives. A mysterious samurai named Manjiro, who first appeared in Margi Preus's Newbery Honor book, Heart of a Samurai, shows up in The Bamboo Sword as an adviser to the shogun and, eventually, as Yoshi's master.
Many of the events and characters in Preus's riveting novel, represented by magnificent archival illustrations and original art by cover artist Yuko Shimizu, are based on a real and turbulent time in Japanese and U.S. history, when President Millard Fillmore was pushing to open ports in Japan for trade. The spirited, often comical story of Yoshi and Jack brings this historic culture clash to life for today's readers. In their first exchange of smiles, Yoshi realizes Jack is a boy like him, in spite of his strange looks (pale skin, sharp nose, red hair, freckles), and thinks, "They might even have been friends if only the boy wasn't a barbarian." Perceived barbarians abound, but in this heartening tale, the boys navigate, and ultimately overcome, their mutual mistrust. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor