2. Chiko, a fifteen year old, Burmese boy, is sent to fight for
the military only as a teenager. His father was arrested four
months ago and labeled a traitor for providing medical
treatment to an enemy. He is now in the army of the same
government who has put his father in prison. There is no
escape, just enduring his time and using his intellect to get
him out quick.
Tu Reh also is a teenage boy (he is a Karenni, an ethnic
minority in Burma) the target of the army. He and his
family live in a refuge camp because his Karenni village was
burnt to the ground. Tu Reh wants to fight for Karenni
independence, wants to fight the Burmese, wants to take
his anger out in action.
3. These two opposites collide during the war. Chiko on
one side, Tu Reh on the other. Chiko is a smart kid
from the city while on the other hand Tu Reh is a
refugee. Tu Reh is looking to get revenge on the
people that destroyed his village. Tu Reh finds Chiko
injured by a mine. Tu Reh thinks he should leave him
there to die but decides to help him and bring him
back to the refugee camp. Chiko and Tu Reh grow to
like each other and figure out what it means to be a
person of their people.
4. There are two parts to this story. The first part is told
from Chiko’s point of view. The second told from Tu
Reh’s. Since the characters are the narrators, there is
explicit dialogue and is told with every little detail.
This gave me a very good sense of what was going on
around the characters. Mitali Perkins does a great job
of relaying the information clearly and getting her
point across to the reader clearly.
5. In this story there are to protagonists. One being Chiko and
the other being Tu Reh. These people are important in the
story because they are from different sides and become
friends. This can teach us that our enemies can sometimes
be our best friend.
A special quote from Chiko is “If you teach me how to
survive this training, I’ll teach you how to read and write
(Page 51)”. This shows that Chiko is confident in his ability
to teach because he wanted to become a teacher. A special
quote from Tu Reh is “Rifles or no rifles, we can take them (
Page 141)”. This quote shows Tu Reh’s strength and how he
is ready to fight for what he wants.
6. The setting of Bamboo People is in Burma during a
time of war. The setting plays a key part in the plot of
the story. The woods of these pats are thick and filled
with bamboo.
Burma Flag (Before becoming Map of
Myanmar) Burma
7. This book fits the oppressive government topic
because of the war between the country and the
minorities within the country. The government in this
book is trying to get rid of the minorities inside of its
own country. The minorities are fighting back and
wanting to be free. The government is just trying t o
make the country better for themselves. This connects
to Animal Farm because Napoleon is trying to make
the farm fit for himself. This is like the government in
Bamboo People. The other animals can connect to the
minorities in Burma. The government can relate to
Joseph Stalin in the Russian Revolution.
8. The title Bamboo People is appropriate because the
woods that Chiko and Tu Reh meet and inhabited was
full of bamboo. They became close in the woods and
were a key factor in the story. The bamboo could
represent all the things that have come upon the
teenagers because of how much bamboo is in forest.
Chiko’s father was put in prison and Tu Reh’s village
was destroyed. Chiko was sent to war unexpectedly
and had to take care of his mother. This is a lot to be
putting on two teenage kids.
9. I would recommend this book to someone in a
heartbeat. This book can teach you many lessons.
One of them being enemies aren’t what they seem to
be sometimes. Tu Reh is angry and frustrated with the
Burmese army because they destroyed his village. He
is able to look through that and help an injured Chiko.
This book can teach you all about Burma. Burma is
not called Burma by the whole world anymore. Some
countries now call it Myanmar. The United States is
one of the countries that still calls it Burma. This book
taught me to look through the negatives in my
enemies and find there true self.
