The House of Sixty Fathers
The House of Sixty Fathers is a 1956 children's novel by Meindert DeJong. Illustrations were provided by Maurice Sendak. The novel was based on the author's own experiences as a military flier in China during the second world war. The book won the Josette Frank Award (then named the Children's Book Award of the Child Study Association) in 1956. It was also named a Newbery Honor Book, won the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and was named an ALA Notable Children's Book — all in 1957. Plot summary The story is set during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japan has invaded China, and the Japanese attack the village where young Tien Pao and his family live. The family flees upriver in an abandoned sampan to the town of Hengyang. While the boy's parents go to a nearby American airfield to seek work with his younger sister, Tien Pao spends the day taking care of the sampan as well as three ducklings and the family pig, named Glory of the Republic. During a rainstorm, while Tien Pao is asleep, the sampan breaks loose from its moorings. Tien Pao is swept down the river. After a night in the raging waters, the storm abates,