Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze is a book by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1933. The story revolves around Fu Yuin-fah, the son of a widow from the countryside of western China, who wishes to become a coppersmith in the big city on the Yangtze River, Chungking . With the help of many people, including an old scholar and a white missionary, his goal is eventually attained. Perhaps because of its colonial overtones, this book has fallen out of favor on recommendation lists. As the book opens, the widowed Fu Be-be arrives in... Chungking with her 13-year-old son Yuin-fah and a letter from a village friend to Tang Yu-shu, a master coppersmith, asking that Young Fu be given an apprenticeship in Tang's establishment. Because the widow is alone and Young Fu is her only son, he is allowed to complete his apprenticeship while living in a small rented room with her, rather than living in the shop, a plot device which allows us to see more of the city than might otherwise be the case.
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| Author: | Elizabeth Foreman Lewis, Elizabeth Lewis |
| Genre: | Children's literature, Fiction |
| Year published: | 1932 |
| Number of editions: | 13 |