"Dragonwings," by Laurence Yep is a personal favorite of mine that I have read countless times. The story is set in the early 1900s, and begins in China. A young boy named Moonshadow lives with his mother and grandmother, and his father works all the way in America, where he sends his family money. They struggle along without him for seven years, when one day a letter arrives. It is from Moonshadow's father, inviting him to go to America to work alongside him. Although Moonshadow knows he will not see his mother for a long time, he agrees and sets out on the difficult journey to America, which, back then, took several weeks, not including the intensive questioning he had to go through. But once he was finally in America, a whole new set of challenges arise. He must fight through the prejudice of American people not ready to accept Chinese people, the hardwork that never seemed to end, and learn an entirely new culture and language. But all this is nothing compared to the hardest challenge of all: Understanding his father, who is a complete stranger to Moonshadow, and helping his father achieve his goal: earning his wings and soaring through the air.The story touches on many historical moments in history. The San Franciso Earthquake of 1906, the Wright Brothers' first flight, and many other important aspects to Chinese and American culture. The whole story centers around his father's desire to fly, and in the book the Wright Brothers play a huge part in it.
The Wright Brothers
Chinese people believe that the dragon is one of the most powerful and wise creatures on earth. In Dragonwings, Moonshadow and his father's flying contraption is christened Dragonwings, and his father has a dream about the Dragon Kingdom, which leads them to build the airplane. Airplanes back then were very skeletal looking and were controlled very simply, so Moonshadow's father's airplane probably looked similar to this:
All in all, "Dragonwings" is a fantstaic book of poetry and adventure, and I highly recommend it to all young adults who appreciate hisotry, beauty, and adventure.
I really liked this book recommendation! This book sounds like an inspiring book revolved around the topic of new opportunities and prejudice. This book recommendation portrays a sense of change and how our American society isn't really the society that many other cultures think of, the perfect and flawless society. In fact, our society is very injustice, as shown by your book, when Moonshadow fights through all of this prejudice, hatred, and challenges that he had not expected until he reached America. Good job.
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