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list price: $12.95
edition:eBook
also available: Hardcover Paperback
category: Children's Nonfiction
published: Nov 2011
ISBN:9781927485064
publisher: Pajama Press Inc.

Last Airlift

A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War  

by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

tagged: orphans & foster homes, historical, new experience, literary
Description

Last Airlift is the true story of the last Canadian airlift operation that left Saigon and arrived in Toronto on April 13, 1975. Son Thi Anh Tuyet was one of 57 babies and children on that flight. Based on personal interviews and enhanced with archive photos, Tuyet's story of the Siagon orphanage and her flight to Canada is an emotional and suspenseful journey brought to life by the award-winning children's author, Marsha Skrypuch.

About the Author

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

MARSHA FORCHUK SKRYPUCH is a Ukrainian Canadian author acclaimed for her nonfiction and historical fiction, including Making Bombs for Hitler (Faire des bombes pour Hitler), The War Below (Soldat clandestin), Stolen Child (Enfant volée,et), and Don't Tell the Enemy (Ne dis rien l'ennemi). Marsha lives in Brantford, Ontario, and you can visit her online at www.calla.com.

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Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
Age:
8 to 12
Grade:
3 to 7
Awards
  • Short-listed, Cooperative Children's Book Center Award
  • Winner, Red Cedar Information Book Award
  • Commended, Bank Street Best Book
  • Short-listed, Cybils Award
  • Runner-up, Red Maple Nonfiction Award
  • Commended, Resource Links "The Year's Best"
  • Short-listed, Hamilton Literary Children's and Young Adult Award
  • Commended, Ontario Library Association Best Bets Selection
  • Short-listed, Children's Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award
Editorial Reviews

[The] biographical approach helps to humanize a war that, for most readers, may seem like ancient history, and the tight focus on the airlift and Tuyet's first days with the Morrises reminds readers that they are sharing the experiences of an agemate.

— Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

An excellent first step on the ladder that leads to such fine immigrant tales as Thanhha Lai's Inside Out & Back Again.

— The Horn Book Magazine

Tuyet's remarkable true story recounts the heroic rescue on a plane bigger than her orphanage, with babies hurriedly placed in cardboard boxes and an unknown future for all. With the new foods, her own bed, eating with a fork, using a toothbrush (instead of her fingers and some salt), walking on grass (instead of rice paddies), and learning that the lights in the nighttime sky are stars instead of bombs, it's her adjustment to a foreign land and an adopted family that proves most fascinating.

— Booklist

Enhanced with documents and a surprising number of photographs, Airlift is a touching, multi-layered experience. The strength of Skrypuch's storytelling shows strongest in the smallest details.

— Smithsonian Institute Book Dragon

Last Airlift is the story of an heroic deed, of one young girl's courage and resourcefulness when she most needs it, and of the ending she could not foresee...Highly Recommended.

— CM Magazine

The author tells Tuyet's story with respect and dignity, introducing readers to a brave girl caught up in the turbulent times of her country, her fears of leaving what she knew, and the joy of finding a new life.

— School Library Journal

Immediate and compelling, this moving refugee story deserves a wide audience.

— Kirkus Reviews

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch never strays from Tuyet's child-centered perspective in recounting her experiences. In an author's note, Skrypuch describes interviewing Tuyet (obviously now an adult), who found that she remembered more and more of the past as she talked. Dialogue takes this narrative out of the category of pure nonfiction, but Tuyet's story, with its occasional black-and-white illustrations, is no less affecting because of it.

— Cooperative Center for Children's Books Choices

Black and white photographs and documents supplement this biographical tale. Told from the point of view of this eight year old girl, the story is quite informative and compelling. Readers who enjoy biographies will find much to admire in Tuyet.

— Youth Services Book Reviews

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