Where do most writers get their ideas? For
Yoshiko Uchida, it all began with Brownie, a five-month-old puppy. So excited
was Yoshiko by Brownie’s arrival that she started keeping a journal, writing
about all the wonderful things Brownie did and the progress he made.
Soon she was writing about other memorable
events in her life, too, like the day her family got their first refrigerator.
She also began writing stories, thanks to one of her teachers. Yoshiko wrote
stories about animal characters such as Jimmy Chipmunk and Willie the Squirrel.
She kept on writing, sharing the kitchen table with her mother, who wrote poems
on scraps of paper and the backs of envelopes.
Yoshiko grew up in the 1930s in Berkeley,
California. Her parents, both of whom had been born in Japan, provided a loving
and happy home for Yoshiko and her sister. They also provided a stream of
visitors to their home who later found their way into Yoshiko’s stories. One
visitor who later appeared in several of Yoshiko’s stories was the bad-tempered
Mr. Toga, who lived above the church that her family attended. Mr. Toga would
scold anyone who displeased him. The children all feared him and loved to tell
stories about how mean he was and how his false teeth rattled (咯咯響) when he talked.
Yoshiko also included in her stories some of the
places she visited and the experiences she had. One of her favorite places was
a farm her parents took her to one summer. The owners of the farm, showed
Yoshiko and her sister how to pump water from the well and how to gather eggs
in the henhouse. They fed the mules that later pulled a wagon loaded with hay
while Yoshiko and the others rode in the back, staring up at the stars shining
in the night sky. Yoshiko, who lived in the city, had never seen such a sight.
As Yoshiko gazed up at the stars, she was filled with hope and excitement about
her life. The images of that hayride stayed with her long after the summer
visit ended, and she used them in several of her stories.
The experiences Yoshiko had and the parade of
people who marched through her young life became a part of the world she
created in over twenty books for young people, such as The Best Bad Thing and A
Jar of Dreams. Because of such books, we can all share just a little bit of the
world and the times in which this great writer grew up.
1.The author tells about Mr. Toga’s false teeth
in Paragraph 3 in order to ____________.
A. show health care was not good enough in
Berkeley during the 1930s
B. provide an interesting detail in Yoshiko’s
life and stories
C. show Yoshiko’s young life was difficult and
frightening
D. tell about a beloved relative who helped
Yoshiko learn how to write
2.In Paragraph 4 “the stars” probably refer to
____________.
A. family relationships B.
terrors in the night
C. limitless possibilities D.
sacrifices to benefit others
3. What does the underlined part in the last
paragraph mean?
A. Yoshiko loved to write about parades.
B. Yoshiko met many interesting people.
C. Yoshiko liked to go for long walks with
others.
D. Yoshiko preferred to talk to her pets instead
of to people.
4.What is the main idea of this story?
A. People who live in the city should spend as
much time as they can in the country.
B. Writers like Yoshiko Uchida must communicate
with as many writers as possible.
C. Those who move to the United States often
miss their homelands for many years.
D. Writers like Yoshiko Uchida look to the
richness of their lives for material.
