The House of Sixty Fathers

Title: The House of Sixty Fathers
Author: Meindert DeJong
Major Themes: China, World War II, Japan, War
Synopsis: When Tien Pao found himself separated from his family during the Japanese invasion of China, he had to be resourceful to survive.

I don’t remember how my family heard of The House of Sixty Fathers some 35 or more years ago—but I do remember my little brother’s reaction to some of the scenes as we read it aloud. I’m not sure how old he was, but probably between three and five. When I read this book to my older children recently, my four-year-old daughter, who listened in, had much the same reaction. My brother climbed around the room on the backs of the couches to release his worry and tension; my little girl repeatedly asked, “When will he find his mommy? When will it be all right?” Can you tell that Meindert DeJong has painted a very vivid word picture of Tien Pao’s problems?

Tien Pao, his father, mother, baby sister, a piglet, and three baby ducklings escaped from their village in China when the Japanese invaded and killed everyone else. They found an empty sampan with only one bullet hole in the bottom, plugged that hole, and used the sampan to escape up the river. After several days, they found a place to stop and work to do. Tien Pao must watch over the boat, the piglet, and the ducklings while his parents work to provide food for the family. However, disaster struck and he found himself way down the river again, alone except for the pig and with no food. What could he do?

Soon, Tien Pao was not only responsible for himself, but for an injured man as well. How could they elude the Japanese patrols and get to safety? And then, when he finally did reach the town where he was separated from his parents, the Japanese had taken that place, too. What should he do? Would he ever find his parents again?

The House of Sixty Fathers is a heartbreaking, heartwarming story. Tien Pao had to be resourceful and brave to survive, let alone find his way back to his father and mother. Many people helped him along the way, and he had many adventures. My daughter was very worried all the way through, but she didn’t want to miss a word. She was quite happy at the end! All of us found this book very absorbing; it was one of the ones we most looked forward to reading each day of the four we had on the go at the time.

WARNING: Chapter 1: Planes shooting sampans and people, little boy bowing to the river god and trying to give it a pig, description of the torture that would be done by Japanese to an American. Chapter 3: Starving children, vision of them drinking pig’s blood, thoughts about the spirits of the mountains. Chapter 4: Soldiers, horses, and vehicles shot from a plane, two soldiers shot, thoughts of torture, a boy is shot at, a man shows a boy a terrible wound, a soldier forces a horse to ride down on a boy, news that a woman was burned in her house. Chapter 6: Train is attacked and the engineer is killed.

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