Bibliography: Lin, Grace. 2006. The Year of the Dog. Ill. by Grace Lin. New York: Little, Brown, and Company. ISBN 9780316060004Plot Summary: Pacy is celebrating the Chinese New Year with her Taiwanese family. It is the Year of the Dog which means it is a good year for friends, family, and finding yourself. Grace (Pacy's American name) makes a new Taiwanese friend at school, learns more about her family's history, and finally discovers her talent. The Year of the Dog is definitely a lucky one for her!
Critical Analysis (Including Cultural Markers):
Grace Lin is a Taiwanese-American who was raised in upstate New York. She uses her childhood experiences to write the story The Year of the Dog. It is told in the first person using the voice of a child, Pacy. Pacy is her family name, but she is known as Grace at school. The story shares her experiences throughout the Year of the Dog as she searches for true friends and her hidden talent.
Lin adds child-like drawings throughout the book to illustrate some of the events. The pictures look like those that would be found in a child’s journal. “How to draw a dog,” “Mom sleeps in school,” “celebrating the Day of the Unicorn,” and “Wizard of Oz curtain call” are a few examples. The simple drawings, along with the emotions and stories shared in the text, allow the reader to believe that it is a child telling the story.
Traditional foods listed in the book include those served for the Chinese New Year: whole fried fish, meat dumplings, “vegetables shining with oil”, steamed buns, shrimp in milky sauce, and pork. All of the food served had special meaning- wealth. It is also important to have a New Year tray filled with Chinese candy. New Year’s candy is stick taffy melon candy that is the color of the moon. Other foods include ‘healthy’ Chinese food that was served at her friend Melody’s house- brown rice, vegetables that were not stir fried, and tofu that didn’t have any “shiny sauce on it”, and dried apricots for dessert.
Lin reveals in the author’s note that this book is “mostly true”. She admits that almost everything in the story had “real-life inspiration”. She explains the identity conflicts in the story: her parents were from Taiwan, which used to be called the Republic of China, so some adults would label them Chinese. They spoke Taiwanese to their relatives on the phone, and they lived in America. They celebrated Chinese New Year with some ‘American’ parts thrown in. This was very confusing to a young child, and several ‘stories’ in the book showed that.
When it was time for students to sign up for the school play Grace knew she wanted to try out for the role of Dorothy. She practiced singing every day and even drew pictures of Dorothy in her checkered dress. On the day of the try-outs her friend Becky tells her that she can’t be Dorothy because “Dorothy’s not Chinese”. She hadn’t thought of this before. Grace decides not to try out for the part after all. This causes her to ask, “How come Chinese people are never important?” She realizes that you never see a Chinese person “in the movies or in a play or in a book”. She and Melody went to the library to ask for a Chinese book. The only book they find is The Seven Chinese Brothers (although the illustration shows the book Five Chinese Brothers). “Those aren’t real Chinese people, though. You’re brother doesn’t have a ponytail.” Grace says to Melody. From this discovery comes the idea of writing her own “real Chinese person book” with “people like us- Chinese Americans”. She remembers the book contest and decides to enter it.
Grace has to face prejudice within her own Taiwanese- America culture when her family attends the Taiwanese-American Convention over the summer. This is a place for Taiwanese-Americans to “get together and do things”. When Grace attends an art class she discovers that she is the only one who doesn’t speak Taiwanese or Chinese. Some girls make fun of her and tell her she’s been Americanized. They call her a Twinkie- “yellow on the outside but white on the inside”. Later when she’s talking to her mother she says “It’s not fair. To Americans, I’m too Chinese, and to Chinese people, I’m too American.” She wasn’t sure which one she was supposed to be. Her mother told her that she was Chinese-American and she didn’t have to be one more than the other.
These different threads twisted her life into knots, but the author tells us again in the author’s note that “the fabric of my life is richer for them”. By weaving these threads of her life stories together, and with her simple illustrations, Grace Lin has created her “real Chinese person book” that will leave readers wanting more.
Review Excerpt(s):
Booklist Starred Review:
“Lin, who is known for her picture books, dots the text with charming ink drawings.... Most of the chapters are bolstered by anecdotes from Grace’s parents, which connect Grace (and the reader) to her Taiwanese heritage. Lin does a remarkable job capturing the soul and the spirit of books like those of Hayward or Maud Hart Lovelace, reimaging them through the lens of her own story, and transforming their special qualities into something new for today’s young readers.” (Gr. 3-5)
Horn Book
“With a light touch, Lin offers both authentic Taiwanese-American and universal childhood experiences, told from a genuine child perspective. The story, interwoven with several family anecdotes, is entertaining and often illuminating. Appealing, childlike decorative line drawings add a delightful flavor to a gentle tale full of humor.”
Kirkus Review
“Occasional black-and-white drawings by the author enliven the text. This comfortable first-person story will be a great for Asian-American girls looking to see themselves in their reading, but also for any reader who enjoys stories of friendship and family life.”
Connections:
Discussion Questions and Activities:
*Compare/contrast dinner at Grace's house and Melody's house.
*2011 is the year of the Rabbit. Make a paper plate rabbit using directions found at http://crafts.kaboose.com/paper-plate-rabbit.html.
*2012 is the year of the Dragon. Create a Chinese Dragon using the directions found at http://crafts.kaboose.com/chdragoneasy.html.
*Prepare some common Chinese New Year dishes for students to sample: dumplings, spring rolls, rice, and Chinese New Year candy.
*Write a story about one of your own New Year's traditions.
Other Books by Grace Lin:
*Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. (2010 Newbery Honor Book) ISBN 9780316038638
*The Year of the Rat. ISBN 031611426X
*Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same! (Horn Book Fanfare List (Awards)ISBN 9780316024525
*Dim Sum for Everyone!ISBN 9780440417705
*The Ugly Vegetables. ISBN 9780881063363
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