LitPick Review
I read the book Sorghaghtani of Mongolia by Shrin Yim Bridges. It is a nonfiction book about a princess named Sorghaghtani. About the age of twelve Sorghaghtani married Prince Touli who was the son of Genghis Khan. While still a teenager she gives birth to their first son. Later she had three more sons. Touli spent most of his time away fighting while Sorghaghtani stayed home to care for their children. She also had to deal with government business if her husband was away. When she was only forty her husband died after a night of drinking alcoholic mare's milk . After her husband's death her brother in law gave her all authority over her husband's land . Later when this same brother in law tried to take control of most of China Sorghaghtani had to be wise and brave to keep him from taking all the land. In the end Sorghaghtani's son was elected the supreme ruler. Sorghaghtani was respected for her wisdom and for teaching her sons to be kind leaders that helped their people.
Opinion:
This book is more than a story about Sorghaghtani life. It is also about the culture of the Mongol tribes who lived north of China. The book shows pictures of some many everyday things Sorghaghtani would have used. Princesses wore a dress with trousers tucked into boots. When they got married they wore a Baqta which was a hat that showed they were married. I was surprised to learn that the women did all the hard work of loading the wagons and getting the horses ready when the tribe decided to move to a different area. This book was very interesting and fun to read.
