2011 Newbery Honor Book
Heart of a Samurai
In 1841, a Japanese fishing vessel sinks. Its crew is forced to swim to a small, unknown island, where they are rescued by a passing American ship. Japan’s borders remain closed to all Western nations, so the crew sets off to America, learning English on the way.
Manjiro, a fourteen-year-old boy, is curious and eager to learn everything he can about this new culture. Eventually the captain adopts Manjiro and takes him to his home in New England. The boy lives for some time in New England, and then heads to San Francisco to pan for gold. After many years, he makes it back to Japan, only to be imprisoned as an outsider. With his hard-won knowledge of the West, Manjiro is in a unique position to persuade the shogun to ease open the boundaries around Japan; he may even achieve his unlikely dream of becoming a samurai.
Published by Amulet Books. Cover art by Jillian Tamaki.
READERS GUIDES
Heart of a Samurai Book Club: In 2023, Philing Good created an amazing book club for 30 kids. Activities included hachimaki headbands, puzzles the style of Hiroshige and Hakusai, a three-legged race while singing sea shanties, and more! Get inspired and join the fun here >
Visible Thinking Rountines: Thanks to Lisa Wattai and Jennifer Windeler for developing these Visible Thinking Routines for Rochester, Michigan’s Authors in April program. The student work from this program was amazing! Download Activities >
Praise for Heart of a Samurai
“It’s a classic fish-out-of-water story . . . and it’s precisely this classic structure that gives the novel the sturdy bones of a timeless tale.
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“A terrific biographical novel.”
“Highly entertaining page-turner
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“Stunning debut novel
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“Adventurous, sprawling, heartwarming
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Awards for Heart of a Samurai
2011 Newbery Honor Book
ALSC Notable Children’s Book
Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature
Listed as one of the Best Children’s Books of the year by Bank Street College, Publishers Weekly, New York City Public Library, Kirkus Reviews
Notable Book for a Global Society
Kiddo Award – Editor’s Pick
Featured on NPR’s Backseat Book Club
Global Reading Challenge Book Seattle Public Library
Videos about Heart of a Samurai
90-Second Newbery Film Festival
Heart of a Samurai was adapted into a short movie for the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. You can learn more about the festival including dates for the annual screenings in New York City, Chicago, and more at 90secondnewbery.com >
Tour Margi’s writing house
Take a tour of Margi’s writing house as she talks about her life as a writer and her inspiration for Heart of a Samurai.
One final thought from Vinny
“This was perhaps one of the best books I’ve ever read. I have to say that I greatly enjoyed having the honor to read and review this fantastic book. I enjoyed it so much, I couldn’t stop reading it, and finished it in three days. I would have read more each day, but I wanted to savor the story; let the suspense sink in. Yes, I would DEFINITELY recommend this book to you all — children and adults alike, so you too can read and become genuinely inspired by the true story of ‘the boy who discovered America,’ Manjiro.
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