SHIPWRECKED by Rhoda Blumberg

When a Japanese boy's father dies that child by law becomes the head of the family, This is where Manjiro's journey begins. Growing up Manjiro always watched his dad go to the docks and fish until one day his father did not return and they never found him now by law Manjiro was forced not only to become head of the family but also to become a fisherman.

After five years of child labor we learn that Manjiro wants to go to sea and go on adventures like the people he has heard about in stories from his poor village. When he became of age he applied for a job as a ship hand but in his first week him and his crew got shipwrecked and were stranded there for many month's, after being shipwrecked on a tiny island him and his new friends learn to survive.

After many months of little food and little water they think they see a ship in the distance as it came closer the captain William H. Whitfield signals to them and later rescues them. After getting settled they learn they cannot go back to Japan or face execution! So Manjiro and his friends travel to Hawaii where they eventually settle down.

But the sea still beckoned Manjiro until he could resist no longer and applied aboard another ship with a fair and kind captain. Many months into their voyage the captain grew to be a total lunatic and the crew mutinied chaining him up and showing him like the wild beast that he was.

This story really spoke to me I felt I could relate to Manjiro in so many ways. I thought the book was well written and includes a lot of history most kids never study in school. If a teacher is looking for a book to give to her class this one would rank right up there!