Prolific writer and Newberry Honor winner, Laurence Yep created this classic tale in the early 1970’s. Moon Shadow Lee is an 8 year old by who travels from his native China to live with his father in San Francisco’s Chinatown district in the early 1900’s. He loves and respects his father, believes him to be clever and brave. When he moves to San Francisco, he and his father live with family as his father works for the family laundry business, but soon they branch out on their own so his father, Windrider, can start a repair business. As he endures the mockery of others, and the hardships of being an impoverished immigrant, Moon Shadow stands by his father in his pursuit to build a machine that can fly. At the heart of the story lies the love and respect of a child for his father, the rich traditions of Chinese culture, and how tenacity and perseverance pay off. This is a story for dreamers, who yearn to read about different cultures or perhaps hear about their own culture from another perspective. I would recommend this selection to older tweens 10 and up who are fans of the historical fiction. Although this selection is part of the Golden Mountain Chronicles it stands strongly as a story on its own.
Yep, L. (1975). Dragonwings. New York: Harper & Row. 248 pages. ISBN: 978-0-064-40085-5.
Ages 9-12
Further reading:
Golden Mountain Chronicles
- The Serpent's Children (1849)
- Mountain Light (1855)
- Dragon's Gate (1867)
- The Traitor (1885)
- Dragonwings (1903)
- Dragon Road (1939)
- Child of the Owl (1960)
- Sea Glass (1970) –
- Thief of Hearts (1995)
No comments:
Post a Comment