Written By: Linda Sue Park
Julia and her best friend, Patrick, must choose a project for the State Fair. When Julia’s mother suggests raising silkworms, Patrick is excited, but Julia, not so much. She is afraid it will be too “Korean” in a fair full of traditional American projects. As she struggles with trying to help on a project she hopes will not succeed, she comes face to face with her own struggle of deciding what it means to be both Korean and American.
Discussion/Project Ideas:
1. Linda Sue Park gives a wonderful presentation on the inter-workings of a sustainable farm. Research a variety of farm animals and see if you can create a sustainable farm of your own using different animals.
2. An important issue is brought up toward the end of the project regarding the death of the worms. Choose two other animals that humans use that have negative outcomes for the animals. I am not talking about killing an animal to eat. I mean using animal for something other than necessity that causes its death – such as fur.
3. The availability of mulberry leaves was required for this project. Many animals around the world depend on a food source that only grows in a specific region. Find three plants that only grow on a small area of the planet. Explain why they are so limited. Pretend there is a natural destruction of a home of one of the plants and try to find a suitable place to transplant what you are able to save. Explain why you think it would survive there. Explain anything that might be a problem, such as slight temperature differences, and tell how you plan to try and counteract it.