The House of Sixty Fathers

Set during the Second Sino-Japanese War, this Newbery Honor and Josette Frank Award-winning novel tells the harrowing story of Tien Pao, a young Chinese boy. After a storm sweeps his sampan downriver, separating him from his family, Tien Pao must journey through dangerous, Japanese-occupied territory to find them. Accompanied by his pig and three ducklings, he faces starvation, exhaustion, and the terrifying realities of war, eventually finding unexpected help from American military fliers. This powerful story explores themes of courage, perseverance, and the enduring strength of family bonds amidst immense hardship.

Alone in a sampan with his pig and three ducklings, a little Chinese boy is whirled down a raging river, back to the town from which he and his parents had escaped the invading Japanese, and spends long and frightening days regaining his family and new home. The novel was based on the author's own experiences as a military flier in China during the Second World War. The book won the Josette Frank Award in 1956.