Nancy Keane's Booktalks -- Quick and Simple
 
 
Ma, Yan.
THE DIARY OF MA YAN : THE STRUGGLES AND HOPES OF A CHINESE SCHOOLGIRL
New York : HarperCollins, 2005
IL 5-8, RL 4.7
ISBN 0060764961
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 I'm sure some of you think life would be a lot better if you didn't have to go to school.  But Ma Yan certainly would not be one of you.  This is the true story of a young girl who was born in rural China in 1987.  Her life as a peasant was a desperate one.  She really believed that if she had an education, her life would be so much better.  She once wrote that "I want to go to school, Mother.  How wonderful it would be if I could go to school forever."  Her mother was able to pass this note along with Ma Yan's diary onto a visiting journalist.  Haski published the diary in France and set up a charity to send Ma Yan to school.  And now, Ma Yan uses the royalties to help other children in her province to get an education.  This is a rare peek into the life of a Chinese peasant.
SUBJECTS:     Ma, Yan, 1987-
                        Girls.
                        China.
                        Diaries.
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