*Project Mulberry

by Linda Park

When Julia Song moves with her family to Plainfield, IL, where they are the only Korean family in town, she becomes best friends with her neighbor Patrick.  They must think of a school project.  Patrick is enthusiastic for making silk from silkworms but Julia is afraid the worm project is "too Korean." Julia relents, but first they must find the mulberry leaves that silkworms feed on. After hearing about Mr. Dixon, they go with Julia's mother to ask him if they can have leaves from his tree. When it is revealed that Mr. Dixon is African-American, Julia's mother's prejudice is obvious.  Then there's the problem of extracting silk from the cocoons (in order to do so, the worms which have become like pets will have to be killed).  Between chapters Julia Song makes suggestions to the author about plot details and voices her complaints about the way her life is being directed (Do you want my opinion? I am not happy with the way things are going here, Julia tells Ms. Park, after chapter 3).

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