Escape from Saigon: How a Vietnam War Orphan Became an American Boy by Andrea Warren

Dangerous. Diverse. Best of Both Worlds. 

Thought-Provoking. Love.

Pg. 92, "Matt and his wife,
Laura are the proud parents of
Christian and Kate" (Warren, 2004).

Pg. 24, "Long (on the right) and
several friends pause for a moment
during their play" (Warren, 2004).

Escape from Saigon: 

How a Vietnam War Orphan Became an American Boy

Written by Andrea Warren.

Published by Melanie Kroupa Books, 2004.

“War, no end to it, people scattered in all directions…” 

–Phung Khac Khoan, Vietnamese poet, 1528-1613 (Warren, 2004)

"'I want my children to know that war isn't just about guns and soldiers, that families get separated and many innocent people are kiiled. But even in the middle of war, sometimes good things happen. In this war, there were people trying to help kids like me. I'll tell them I was one of the lucky ones, because I was able to escape and I had a wonderful family waiting for me.'"  –Hoang-V-Long/Matt Steiner (Warren, 2004)

"'I love my adopted country and I'm proud to be an American. But I will never forget that my American heart is half Vietnamese.'" –Hoang-V-Long/Matt Steiner (Warren, 2004)

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 5-12. At the end of the Vietnam War, eight-year-old Amerasian orphan named Long fled his country and found a loving home with his adoptive family in Ohio. With a new name, Matt Steiner, he grew up to be high-school valedictorian and athletic star, and now he is a doctor with his own happy family. But this stirring photo-essay is more than a rags-to-riches story. Always true to the child's viewpoint, Warren's clear narrative, with many documentary photos, begins as the boy struggles to survive in Vietnam, then describes the anguish of his abandonment by a loving grandmother no longer able to care for him; the kindness of rescuers at the orphanage, who arranged his adoption; and his terrifying evacuation on a plane under fire. The child-at-war story and the facts about the Operation Babylift rescue are tense and exciting. Just as gripping is the boy's personal conflict: his struggle to become American; his attempt to deny his sadness at what he left behind; and, finally, his pride in his roots ("I will never forget that my American heart is half Vietnamese"). Framing the biography is fascinating information, including Warren's account of the evacuation of her own adopted baby daughter on Operation Babylift; discussion about international adoption and Amerasian children; and a lengthy annotated list of sources. --Hazel Rochman

Recommended for the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, 2005.

Winner of the Society of Midland Authors Book Award: Children's Non-Fiction, 2004-2005.
IRA Notable Books for a Global Society
Society of Midland Authors Book Awards: Honorable Mention
Booklinks Lasting Connection
Booklist Editors' Choice
Louisiana YR Choice Book Award Master List, 2007
NCSS-CBC Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies

Born on May 15, 1966 in Saigon, Vietnam, Hoang-V-Long lived his childhood life during the sorrowful and dreadful Vietnam War. He was no ordinary Vietnamese boy, but an Amerasian, half American and half Vietnamese, a mixture that is looked down upon in Vietnam. His father left him at a young age, leaving his mother the only caretaker. His mother and him left the city and went through many homes till they reached their relative's village. Long made many new friends, went to school, and met his grandmother, Ba. Ba was very special to Long and soon will be his only caretaker. As time passes, the United States withdraw their American soldiers leaving South Vietnam vulnerable to the Vietcong and North Vietnam. Ba and Long leave their village in hopes to escape the guerrilla warfare from the Vietcong. Traveling out of the country, they reach Saigon, which is considered the "Orient of Paris," the safest place to be in South Vietnam. Ba works long hours so that she can take care of Long. However, as the war increases with the North Vietnamese invading South Vietnam, employment and food is scarce. This puts Ba in a difficult situation, in which she chooses to place Long at Holt, an American-sponsored orphanage where Long may be adopted by an American family; to give Long food to eat, to have a family, overall to have a better life. Long feeling helpless and family-less still learns to enjoy his time at the orphanage. He meets new friends and is an eager student. He is then later adopted by an American family and is named Matthew Ray Steiner. As the war continues, orphanages all around Vietnam scramble to have their orphans be saved from the enemy through Operation Babylift. More than 2,000 orphans were evacuated, giving these children life. Andrea Warren portrays this story with a first-hand account by Matthew Ray Steiner. One is able visualize themselves in his journey as he lives his life in Vietnam to the United States.

Pg. 74, "Long, now known as Matt, with
his new family, the Steiners, two weeks
after arriving in America" (Warren, 2004).

Extras: This inspirational book includes an introduction where the author describes her life experience of adopting her Vietnamese daughter during the Vietnam War in the 1970s. She tells the readers what inspired her to write this book and how one can make a difference in the world by helping and volunteering. It also includes a brief history about Vietnam and how war brought Vietnam to its sorrow condition, which affected many lives. A descriptive map of Vietnam is also included to show the setting of the book and a variety of pictures that helps illustrate the story. This book is also formatted as a chapter book, so have students read the heading for each chapter, as it describes the theme or main idea for that part. At the end of the book, it includes a brief postscript on the people in the story, brief history on Operation Babylift, International Adoption, Amerasian Children, and statistics of the war. Multimedia recommendations for young, middle, and mature readers are included so that these readers can learn more about Vietnam. Recommended website, videos, and movies are also provided. For the author to be credible, she includes sources and photo credits. She also wrote an Acknowledgment, where she thanks the people who have helped her write this book. Lastly, an index where students can find keywords in the book and a brief biography of the author is located on the inside jacket.

Pg. 89, "During his trip to Vietnam, Matt especially
enjoyed time spentwith children at orphanages" (Warren, 2004).

Literary Genre: Diversity, Nonfiction, History & Social Studies, Military, Travel & Places

Reading Level: Lexile Framework 930L, Grade 6

Suggested Delivery: Independent Read

ISBN-13: 978-0374322243

****************************************************************************

Teachers... Here are some resources to help 

you teach Escape from Saigon: How a Vietnam War Orphan Became an American Boy

Pg. 81, "Matt's sixth-grade photo,
taken as he is about to become
an American citizen" (Warren, 2004).

Electronic Resources:

Andrea Warren

Author's Site: Andrea Warren - This source provides a brief biography about the author, books that she written, interviews, Q&A, contact information, and how to have Andrea Warren visit one's school. Great for teachers and students to view before reading.

Asia Society: Education - This source provides teachers, who are focusing on an Asian themed curriculum, educational resources to teach about Asia. This source provides lesson plans, photographs, videos, fun activities and games, maps, a link to a student's website, and many more. Great source for teachers to use as a way to gain student's interest.

Adopt Vietham: Operation Babylift - This source provides more information to teachers and students about Operation Babylift that occurred in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It includes photographs, videos, reasons for the Babylift, and many more that will give teachers and students insight of this life-saving event. Great to use during or after reading.

Youtube: PBS's 35 Years After the Fall of Saigon - This PBS source is a documentary that describes the 35 years aftermath of the Fall of Saigon. This is a great source for students to view before, during, or after reading the book.

(Warren, 2004).

Vietnam's Factbook - This government source provides facts about Vietnam, including a brief history, capital, geography, people and society, and many more. This is a great source for students to use before reading this book.

PBS: Vietnam War - This source provides more information about the Vietnam War during the late 1900s. It provides a timeline of the battles during the war, brief history, tactics, and web sources that teachers could use in their lesson plans or for students to browse. Great to view before, during or after reading.

Pg. 36, "Long, in the photo
sent to the Steiners" (Warren, 2004).

Key Vocabulary: Operation Babylift, suicide, causalities, civilian, Communists, Amerasian, reprisal, marines, citizenship, homeless, emigration, evacuation, refugee, Vietcong, rural, malnutrition, minorities, 

Teaching Suggestions: 

1. Use this text in History and Social Studies as a supplement to educate students the social/civilian aspect of the Vietnam War.
2. Use this text in Geography to locate where Saigon is in Vietnam, Hoang-V-Long's home, and where Vietnam was divided into two countries: North and South Vietnam.
3. Use this text in Mathematics to calculate how many miles it took for Hoang-V-Long/Matt Steiner in Saigon, Vietnam to reach his new family in the United States.
4. Use this text to have students make text-to-self connections on how it feels to leave one's homeland and then adjust to a new culture.
5. Use this text to have students make text-to-world connections on how the wars today are affecting lives. Are occurrences such as adoption happening during these wars? If not, what is?

Comprehension Strategies:

Map of Vietnam (Warren, 2004)

• Before Reading: 
• Introduce to students that they will be entering a topic that may be sensitive to some people and to history itself. Have students complete a KWL chart. Have students first complete the "K" part, which asks students to activate their prior knowledge about what they know about the Vietnam War and Operation Babylift. Have students also complete the "W" part, which will ask students to write what they "WANT" to know about the Vietnam War and Operation Babylift. After, have a whole group discussion about what they know and want to know and write the information on the board as a visual. It is also important to educate students the content-specific vocabulary as it relates to having students construct meaning as they read; this will help clarify student's misunderstandings or misconceptions as well.
• During Reading: 
• While reading, have students create a timeline of Hoang-V-Long's life through his birth to his adoption by an American family. Also, have students make text-to-world connections by relating his life events to the events in Vietnam War and how each effected his life and the overall, Vietnamese population.
• After Reading: 
• Have students complete the "L" portion of the KWL Chart. Then, have students create an Acrostic Poem with the main character's name, either his Vietnamese name: Hoang-V-Long, or his American name, Matthew Ray Steiner. With each name, have students describe his life according to where he used his name (his name in Vietnam was Hoang-V-Long; his name in the United States was Matthew Ray Steiner). Model this for the students: for example, for his Vietnamese name, for H, I would write Hunger because during his life in Vietnam, he was hungry most of his life. When finished writing, have students in small groups describing their Acrostic Poems and the significance of the words/phrases they chose.

Pg. 21, "Seven-Year-Old
Long, shortly after his
arrival at the Holt Center,
holding a card with his name
and birthdate" (Warren, 2004).

Student Writing Activity: Students will play the role of Matthew Ray Steiner. He recently joined his new American family and is excited about having a family and living in the United States. He has the ability to send a letter to his grandmother, Ba because someone was able to track her address. Have students write a letter to Ba, as Matt Steiner, describing his life/experience in the United States. Be sure to have students use key details and examples, such as who the family members are, where he lives, etc., from the book in the letter. This is a great writing activity because students are able to pretend that they are Steiner and this will give teachers an assessment to see if students understand who Steiner is by what they are writing to Ba.

Warren, A. (2004). Escape from Saigon: How a Vietnam war orphan became an American boy. New York, NY: Melanie Kroupa Books.