Dragonwings

Dragonwings
by Laurence Yep

Published: 2001 Publisher: Harper Collins
Paperback: 248 pages ISBN: 0064400859

Genre: Historical fiction
Recommended for children ages 10+ and grades 5-8.

Plot Summary:
Dragonwings is a historical novel that takes place in San Francisco in the early 1900's. The narrator Moonshadow is eight years old when he sails from China to the US to live with a father he has never met. His father, Windrider, has been living in San Francisco making his living doing laundry in the hopes of saving enough money to bring his family over. Even though they are strangers when they meet, Moon Shadow and Wind Rider form a quick bond and together face poverty, racism, cruelty and even the great earthquake. Inspired by the account of a Chinese immigrant who made a flying machine in 1909, Yep's novel simply and artistically portrays the Chinese community as it attempted to forge a space in a hostile new land.

Evaluation:
This is a simple story that clearly portrays a not-often learned about time period. It has magical elements as well as accurately portraying an important time period in California history. The characters are very likable and their immigrant experience is relate-able to many people living in 2015. Within a classroom, this book could be used to study California history, Chinese-American history, or the immigrant experience. Asian students are not often included in "diverse" book selections by professionals - the focus is often limited to African American or Latino students - and this book puts Asian-American history into the spotlight.

Content Area:
English
Social Science

CA Common Core State Standards
CCSS Grades 6-8 Reading Standards for Literature
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

CA Social Science Standards
Grades 6-8 History and Social Sciences Analysis Skills
Students construct various time lines of key events, people, and periods of the historical era they are studying.Students explain the central issues and problems from the past, placing people andevents in a matrix of time and place.

Links:

Glencoe PDF Lesson Plans

Scholastic Lesson Plans

Video Interview with Author