Forbidden City (novel)
 | |
| Author | William E. Bell |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | World Wide Photos |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young-adult fiction |
| Publisher | Seal Books by arrangement with Doubleday Canada |
Publication date | 1990 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 274 |
| ISBN | 0-7704-2813-4 |
Forbidden City is a novel based on the events of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. It is a story of maturation/coming of age.
Plot
This book begins with a 17-year old boy named Alex Jackson who enjoys subjects related to military history, and travels to Beijing, China with his journalist father, Ted, to cover the Gorbachev visit to China for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and eventually, cover the student protests.
March 29th - You are introduced to Alex Jackson and his dad, Ted Jackson. They live in Toronto, Canada and before the book takes place, Ted has divorced his wife, Brenda Jackson. In this chapter both of their jobs/hobbies are revealed. Alex loves history, and has recently gotten into Chinese Military history. Ted almost sees his life through the lens of a camera, always lining up for the best shot possible. As mentioned before, Ted works for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and in this chapter is sent into Beijing, China to replace someone who works for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, who got sick and didn't want to be treated in the Chinese hospitals. This person came back to Canada. Ted's job is to catch everything that they can of the Russian Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, (Usually referred to as "Gorbachev") who was making an official visit to Beijing, China. Alex and Ted were both ecstatic about this and were rearing to go.
March 30th - Alex and his dad leave for Beijing. Alex's dad gets really tired and Alex basically has to steer him through the airport(s). They flew from Toronto to Vancouver, then from Vancouver to Beijing.
April 1st - They land in Beijing at night and meet a man named Lao Xu, a co-worker of a man named Eddie. Eddie does the video editing and helps stream the footage back to Toronto. Lao Xu drives them to the hotel that they will be staying in where they meet Eddie the CBC correspondent.
Awards
The book won the 1991 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award[1] and several other awards.[2]
Curriculum
The book is often included in reading material for North American schools. [3]
References
- ↑ Awards, Home. "Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award". The Canadian Children's Book Centre. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
- ↑ Book, RandomHouse. "Forbidden City by William Bell". RandomHouse.ca. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
- ↑ Online, Teacher Resources. "Online Resources for Students & Teachers". Saskatoon Public School Division. Online Learning Centre. Retrieved 11 June 2010.