Matthew, Mark, Luke & John

by Pearl S. Buck, Mamoru Funai (Illustrator)

Abandoned by their American GI fathers and Korean mothers, four young boys live under a bridge as a family with Matthew, the oldest, serving as the father. Sam, an American soldier invites them to the Christmas party on the base, where the boys begin a new life. Sam and his wife adopt Matthew who continues to worry about all those left behind. An inspiring story of self-reliance, compassion and moral courage in the face of daunting odds, this book deals with racial prejudice, abandonment and the responsibility of being a father to a family. 125th Author's Birthday Edition and 50th Anniversary of First Edition.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christmas, Childrens, Classics

86 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker Buck was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for The Good Earth, the best-selling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and which won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. In 1938, Buck became the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China" and for her "masterpieces", two memoir-biographies of her missionary parents.
Buck was born in West Virginia, but in October 1892, her parents took their 4-month-old baby to China. As the daughter of missionaries and later as a missionary herself, Buck spent most of her life before 1934 in Zhenjiang, with her parents, and in Nanjing, with her first husband. She and her parents spent their summers in a villa in Kuling, Mount Lu, Jiujiang, and it was during this annual pilgrimage that the young girl decided to become a writer. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, then returned to China. From 1914 to 1932, after marrying John Lossing Buck she served as a Presbyterian missionary, but she came to doubt the need for foreign missions. Her views became controversial during the Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy, leading to her resignation. After returning to the United States in 1935, she married the publisher Richard J. Walsh and continued writing prolifically. She became an activist and prominent advocate of the rights of women and racial equality, and wrote widely on Chinese and Asian cultures, becoming particularly well known for her efforts on behalf of Asian and mixed-race adoption.

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be read by every (spoiled) American child waiting for Santa to bring a plethora of gifts on Christmas (or Hanukkah /Kwanza or any other winter holiday featuring gifts!). I read this book with my 6th graders millions of years age--my favorite students were very impacted by it. It's relevant today when thinking of Iraq and Afghanistan etc. rather than Korea. Our kids (and many adults) don't realize how our worst days would be the best for many in our world!

Nice to read it again (and cry....)

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

My children didn't like this as much as I did. The book deals with "Them" - the half American, half Korean children who were rejected from Korean society.
One boy is adopted by an American family who then advocates for the boys he had to leave behind.
Read to my children at lunch.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book so much, that I convinced my third grade teacher to read it to the whole class. I don't think she wanted too, but did anyway. I remember at the end that she got choked up and teary. I love this story. I enjoyed revisiting it. Again.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very touching story of abandoned orphan Korean/American children living under a bridge at 5 to 11 years old. The Koreans called the mixed race children "those" I think my middle school grandson would appreciate it.

[Ruby Neumann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I read as a young reader back in the bush country of Flatrock, B.C. I don't remember maybe books from my childhood that I was fond of or that made an impact on me, but this one has always been on the forefront of my mind as to a life changer before I knew what a life changer was. Last year, I got my husband to order the book off Amazon and I had the story in my hand again and it didn't take long to read it, but I was immersed back into the story that captured my heart so many years ago. Four young American Korean boys were ostracized from their family and community because they "didn't belong". Their mothers were Korean and their fathers were American soldiers. This is the story of how these four boys found their way to each other and together and eventually finding a home of love. I am so glad I have this story on my book shelf. I would thank Pearl S. Buck, but she no longer lives. But her book made a difference in my life and for that I am grateful.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My love for Pearl S Buck knows no bounds.
This beautiful little novella reminds me of my love for her, and my fellow man. This is one of those pieces that should be mandatory reading for every person on this earth.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great children's story by PSB to raise awareness for the plight of Amerasian children.

[Angela]

very good; suggest this to my adult daughter.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of our family’s favorite Christmas stories. We are now sharing it with our grandchildren.

[Liane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart wrenching children’s book picked up at Pearl S Buck’s home/museum about the abandoned children of American soldiers in Korean

[Sheryl McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like all Pearl S. Buck's stories, it's still a great story. Spoiler alert....you may cry. If you're not moved to think of similar children today, you may have lost your human empathy.

[Trixie Labarda]

evangelical books is the most