Red Scarf Girl

Title: Red Scarf Girl      
Author: Ji-Li Jiang   
Category: First Person Account  


Topic: China, The Cultural Revolution  
Grade Level: 5-9  
Students: A balanced mix of strong readers and struggling or reluctant readers 
Rating by: Ann B.  

Historically Accurate?

(4) Yes and also includes historical notes, primary sources, etc.*

(3) Yes

(2) A few inaccurate or misleading portrayals

(1) Not a bit
 * This is a first person account.

An Engaging Story?

(4) Almost all students will beg to keep reading

(3) Most students will get caught up in the story

(2) Some students will read ahead by mistake

(1) Students will groan when the book is mentioned

Prompts Discussion?

(4) Students will still be talking about it in the hallway

(3) Will prompt discussion about major issues in the past as well as today

(2) Will prompt discussion about the characters and the events in the book

(1) Will not prompt discussion

Readability?

(4) Everyone - even the most reluctant readers – can get on board

(3) Can be used for a whole class read

(2) Can only be used with a small high-powered reading group

(1) Recommend only to students that love reading

Age Appropriate Content?
____Too mature
_X__Just right
____Too simplistic


Amazon's Product Description:  

"Ji-li Jiang was twelve years old in 1966, the year that Chairman Mao launched the Cultural Revolution in China. An outstanding student and much-admired leader of her class, Ji-li seemed poised for a shining future. But all that changed with the advent of the Cultural Revolution, when intelligence became a crime and a wealthy family background invited persecution'or worse. For the next three years Ji-li and her family were humilated and reviled by their former friends, neighbors, and colleagues and lived in constant terror of attack. At last, with the detention of her father, Ji-li was faced with the most dreadful decision of her young life: denounce him and break with her family, or refuse to testify against him and sacrifice her future in her beloved Communist Party.

Told with simplicity, innocence, and grace, this unforgettable memoir gives a child's eye view of a terrifying time in twentieth-century history'and of one family's indomitable courage under fire."

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to Teacher's Guide from Facing History and Ourselves
Link to the website of the author: Ji Li Jiang
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound