There are two books that teachers read aloud to me and my classmates in school but I cannot find either title?

Question

These books were by two different authors whom I cannot remember their names. The books were titled; "Things As They Are" and "The House of 100 Fathers." Both were about children, one about a boy learning about the hypocrasy of adults and the other was about Vietnamese children who were orphaned and near starvation taken in by, I am not sure, maybe American soldiers? Thanks.

Answer 1

"Things As They Are" by Paul Horgan

"The House of Sixty Fathers" by Meindert DeJong

Answer 2

Perhaps these two, as they are both childrens books and were written and/or illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Not exactly the titles and plots you described, but the best I can come up with for now.

Where the Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak

The plot of the book is based on the fantasy (and real) consequences of a little boy's mischief. One night Max dresses up in his wolf suit and does all kinds of things he shouldn't, like chasing the dog with a fork. His mother scolds him and calls him a "WILD THING!" Max is so mad he shouts back, "I'LL EAT YOU UP!" As a result, his mother sends him to his bedroom without any supper.
Max's imagination transforms his bedroom into an extraordinary setting, with a forest and an ocean and a little boat that Max sails in until he comes to a land full of "wild things." Although they look and sound very fierce, Max is able to tame them with a single glance. They all realize Max is "..the most wild thing of all" and make him their king. Max and the wild things have a fine time creating a rumpus until Max begins to want to be "…where someone loved him best of all." Max's fantasy ends when he smells his dinner. Despite the wild things' protests, Max sails back to his own room where he finds his supper waiting for him.


The House of Sixty Fathers
written by Meindert DeJong and illustrated by Maurice Sendak

Tien Pao is all alone in enemy territoy. Only a few days before, his family had escaped from the Japanese army, fleeing downriver by boat. Then came the terrible rainstorm. Tien Pao was fast asleep in the little sampan when the boat broke loose from its moorings and drifted right back to the Japanese soldiers. With only his lucky pig for company, Tien Pao must begin a long and dangerous journey in search of his home and family.

*** added later
I just read Mathlady's reply and think she's dead on with Things As They Are - good job Mathlady!

Answer 3

I use this book for my children that I tutor... I love it. Paul Fleischman’s Seedfolks In Seedfolks, Newbery Medal winner Paul Fleischman creates an urban garden that brings a new sense of hope and community to a bleak Cleveland neighborhood. Seedfolks consists of a series of first-person vignettes, each told by a different character. As perspectives, dispositions, and backgrounds shift with the narratives, the reader comes to understand the personal reasons that bring these thirteen very different individuals one by one to a vacant lot to plant and nourish seeds. Despite prejudices, hesitancies, and language differences, the estranged neighbors begin to find ways of overlooking these barriers to develop new relationships with each other. Before long the multiethnic seedfolks have developed a sense of pride and fellowship. The distinct voices of each character show the reader the vast differences and similarities that can exist simultaneously among diverse people, and how these differences can actually help those people form a community as vibrant and rich as the garden they have created.

Answer 4

I think the author is John Perceval Egmont - "Things as They Are"