The House of the Sixty Fathers

The House of the Sixty Fathers by Meindert DeJong

This is a 1950’s Newbery Honor book that is more satisfying than recent bestsellers. It still amazes me that this book with the unobtrusive, faded cover can so easily capture my attention and stir my emotions. It doesn’t have any of the bells and whistles of modern day novels. You certainly cannot purchase it for your Kindle. And yet it is worth the $6 you would have to spend to buy the paperback. Had I spent $9.99 on the most recent novel I reviewed, I would have been horrified! Not worth the binary code it was written with!

This is the story of Tien Pao, a young boy of unspecified age. He is the first born son of a small family from the village of Tien in China. They own little – a small pig, three ducklings and a stone mill for grinding rice for Tien Pao’s baby sister, Beauty-of-the-Republic.

When the novel begins, Tien Pao’s family is hiding in the town of Hengyang. The Japanese have invaded China and chased the people from their villages towards inland. Tien Pao’s family ran with no food or money. They only escaped by taking a sampan, (houseboat,) that was left on the river unattended. Many days and many nights the small family journeyed against the river’s current to find safety from the Japanese army.

Tien Pao’s mother and father leave Tien Pao with the sampan, the pig and the ducklings while they search for work to earn money to buy food, Beauty-of-the-Republic strapped to his mother’s back. Tien Pao has strict instructions to stay aground for the river is too strong and too swift for a child so young and weak.

An American Airman seeks out Tien Pao to take him across the river in exchange for money. Tien Pao agrees with the urging of his sampan neighbor. Tien Pao is assured that he will receive yen in exchange for the trip. Hoping to please his family, Tien Pao agrees.

Tien Pao earns 100 yen – enough money to feed his family for weeks – as well as the distrust and disappointment of his father. Tien Pao’s mother scolds him for disobeying – he could have been hurt or worse. Tien Pao vows never to do it again, but he cannot control his fate. Purely by accident, the sampan is set adrift and rides down the river unbeknownst to the boy.

When Tien Pao realizes what has happened, he finds that he has drifted all the way back into enemy territory with a small pig, three ducklings, a handful of rice and a broken sampan. He has many hard decisions ahead, but he keeps the pig and names him Glory-of-the-Republic. Glory-of-the-Republic is the friend that gives Tien Pao the support and warmth he needs to make his way through the mountains, past the Japanese and back up the river to find his family.

Glory-of-the-Republic is also the distinguishing characteristic that sets Tien Pao apart from the many Chinese refugees and war orphans. Glory-of-the-Republic marks the boy as the one who not only ferried the American Airman across the river, but also saves his life not once, but twice in the mountains.

And that is how Tien Pao earns the right to live in the House of Sixty Fathers.

Beautifully written. Woven like a tapestry. Tight. No loose ends. And everything important to the story.

I realize how hard this book will be to sell. It does not look like much. But this is how a book should be written. Maybe I can find a World War II buff out there… Or maybe my daughter would like to tackle another 1950’s Newbery book… Meindert De Jong has never let me down!