Project Mulberry - 2009 Rebecca Caudill Nominee

Project Mulbery was an interesting read from the standpoint of learning about Korean culture. I learned new words, foods, etc. It made me want to visit the country. I listened to this book on audio (CD) and was fascinated with the main character's interactions with the author. :) I thought Linda Sue Park did a masterful job of making Julia a very reflective character in terms of what was going on in the story and her reactions/behaviors that related to those story events. I was particularly impressed with the honest nature of the inner battle that Julia had within herself about being proud to be Korean. Being from Illinois, it was nice to read about a setting for which I was somewhat familiar. On the other hand, I got a little bored with the story line of the science fair project. It seemed to me that the conflict about whether or not to do the project or sabotage the project went on longer than I expected. However, I was rooting for Julia and Patrick's project to win. This book was just okay for me. I like other work from this author much better such as When My Name Was Keoko, and I absolutely loved A Single Shard. All in all, I think Linda Sue Park is a prolific writer, and her contribution to multicultural literature is well noted.