Based on true events during the Sino-Japanese War, a young Chinese boy, Tien Pao, and his piglet were separated from his parents and baby sister. The Japanese had burned and occupied their village, and they were forced to flee. One day the family sampan -- carrying Tien Pao and his pig -- accidentally floated back into enemy territory. After making his way to shore, he sought to find his way back to his family through treacherous mountainous trails. Starving and exhausted, he and his pig slept in caves by day, and travelled by night.

One of those days he witnessed the Japanese shoot down an American military plane. Tien Pao rescued the injured pilot, and with the aid of a group of Chinese guerrillas, they carried him back to his unit. And when Tien Pao arrived at the village where his parents were last seen, the people were already fleeing because of the Japanese. Tien Pao searched relentlessly until he was picked up by a couple of American pilots and taken back to their barracks where they looked after him. All sixty pilots did. Hence the name House of Sixty Fathers.

Meanwhile, the injured pilot Tien Pao met in the mountains was part of this unit, and he took the young boy to search for his parents. Of course, he recognized his mother while she was working at a nearby airfield, where they were reunited.

This juvenile story has won many awards: Newberry Honor, Han Christian Andersen, and ALA Notable Children's Book. The author wrote this story based on his experiences as a pilot in China during WWII.

I read this to my kids for school because we are studying China during the 1900s to current times. It was somewhat juvenile for them, but it gave them a sense of China before communism, and when the U.S. and China were allies. Now not so much. I also gave the book three stars because it was "agreeable" and we liked it. ( )

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.

We read this as a family read aloud with a 7, 10 and 12 year old and we couldn't put it down! We all loved it. I wouldn't give it to a young child to read on their own. It was good for the children to imagine what it would be like for other kids growing up through a war. LOVED IT! ( )

Oy, talk about an adventure story.  Takes place in China during WWII, so, educational - but also ever so exciting.  A reissue would def. appeal to modern children.  Sendak's art is wonderful, but not as highly personal as his work for the books he writes himself, more straightforward... and more apt, imo.  Inspired by DeJong's own experience in China. ( )

How anyone would give this book to a child younger than HS escapes me. The scenes of the Japanese armies invading China are harrowing, especially with absolutely no historical context, or even identification of the time period. Also, the boy Tien Pao is supposed to be sympathetic, and no doubt many people even his age survived under remarkable conditions, but the struggle is presented in a kind of "betweener" fashion that dscribes the hardships without really explaining how impossible it was that he made it through (even with fortuitous aid).
The miraculous happy ending is okay, but the emphasis is on "miracle".
The presence of Americans in China is never explained, nor why they would be so helpful, other than as sixty dei ex machine.
(Was this supposed to be based on a true story somehow? Per Wiki, the author was a pilot like the ones I the book.)
Style: I hate back-stitched beginnings. There was no reason not to start with the Tien family running for their lives, other than as a cheap hook -- which is terribly confusing for younger readers. Also, the title leads one to expect more time in the "House" than just the final couple of chapters.
Plus, one of my own pet peeves: the baby's Chinese name is rendered in English, to give a reason for the name of the pig - why doesn't Tien Pao have his name in English, or at least reference the other two in Chinese. ( )