Ten-year-old Ursula helps her parents run their stagecoach stop in Whistle, Montana, spends time wandering through the hills, and plays a pirate adventure game with her friends. However, everything changes when she gets smallpox, which leaves ugly scars on her face. Ursula refuses to leave her room and let anyone see her. Can anyone talk Ursula into coming out of hiding? A Chinese cook, Ah Sam, will experience disappointment when a blizzard keeps him from going to San Francisco for Chinese New Year. Sometimes your empathy for someone else's problems can give you perspective on your own.
128 pages 9780064409650 Ages 8-10
Contributed by B. Karp, Librarian, New York USA
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Ursula always wanted to see the circus. That is, until she caught smallpox. Now all she wants is to hide her scarred face. But Ah Sam, her parents' Chinese cook, has other ideas. He brings to town a magical circus and finds a way to give Ursula the confidence she needs to face the world. In return, Ursula finds a way to make Ah Sam happy. She creates the biggest, best Chinese New Year celebration that )Whistle, Montana, has ever seen!
Based on actual events that occurred in the early twentieth century, two-time Newbery Honor author Laurence Yep's novel captures both the overwhelming pain of being different and the simple comfort in finding the community to which you belong.---from the publisher
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Can Ursula ever show her face again? Ursula always wanted to see the circus. That is, until she caught smallpox. Now all she wants is to hide her scarred face from everyone. But Ah Sam, her parents' Chinese cook, has other ideas.
One day Ah Sam surprises Ursula by bringing a circus to town, but there's one problem -- there's no music. Ursula is the only one who can play the harmonica, but that means she'll have to go outside and face the world again. Will Ursula save the circus or will she hide forever?---from the publisher
