Heartbreaking. You can see the emotion on this boy's face throughout his terrifying journey. Bravery and courage and hope.

Great book, with solid lessons of life, Cultural Emphsis, adventure, Illustrations, picture book, drama. Story of war and peace. Imprisonment and rescue. ( )

This was a very interesting book to read. It was a little bit intense and heavy to use with younger students so even though it is a picture book, I would definitely gear it towards older elementary school students who could handle the maturity better. I absolutely loved the illustrations in this book-they reflected all of the different tones found in the book, from happiness to sorrow. Arn volunteered to play music in his work camp which ended up changing his life, and I love how that was included. The main character was very well developed, and the reader felt very connected to him. The main idea of this story is to persevere through whatever you are going through, because if you stay strong you can make it through anything. ( )

I enjoyed this book a lot but I felt that the plot was long and drawn out. I lot interest part way though the book. The illustrations were nice but they did not fulfill everything I wanted them too. They sometimes depicted sad situations like child labor and labor camps but this part of history is very important to not be over looked. I thought they were a great addition to the story. The central message was quite sad because is was discussing that of which music can help you though very tough times of war and oppression. It took place during a time of war in Cambodia and the main character Arn was in a camp where he was taught how to play a special instrument. The characters were very believable and I could see these characters being based off of real people with ease. Arn’s story was beautiful with an ending that let you with a smile. He was found in a flood by an American who took him back to the United States and gave him a new start on life but at the same time I feel like they did not address exactly how lucky he was. What happened to all the other children? ( )

I had mixed feelings about “A Song for Cambodia”, the central message of which was that music can serve as an escape in even the most desperate of situations. I did not like the plot of the story, which was about war and oppression, however, I did feel that the characters, such as Arn, were well-developed. Arn’s story was very believable, and surely told the story of many other young children who lived in Cambodia during this time. I also felt that the writing of the story was engaging. As a reader, I felt invested in Arn’s story, and was eager to find out whether he was triumphant by the end of it. In addition to the content of the story, I did not like its illustrations, which depicted very sad instances such as child labor; these are not pictures I like to see in a children’s book. I did like, however, that the tides of Arn’s life changed when he was saved from a flood by an American man. I enjoyed reading about this noble and selfless act by an American, and I greatly appreciated how he took Arn under his wing and ultimately brought Arn to live with him in America. While there were certain aspects of this book that I liked, I do not think this is a book that I would want to have in my future classroom library, as I would prefer for my students not to read about war and oppression at such a young age. ( )