Dragonwings facts for kids
Cover of the book's original 1975 edition.
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| Author | Laurence Yep |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction, Children's literature |
| Published | 1975 |
| Publisher | Harper Collins; 25th edition (January 23, 2001) |
| ISBN | 978-0064400855 |
Dragonwings is an exciting historical novel written for young readers by Laurence Yep. It was first published in 1975. This book is the start of a series called the Golden Mountain Chronicles. It tells a story that takes place fifth in the series' timeline.
Many schools use Dragonwings in their classrooms. It has also been turned into a play. In 1995, Laurence Yep and Dragonwings won the Phoenix Award. This award celebrates the best children's book published twenty years earlier that didn't win a major award at the time. Dragonwings was also a runner-up for the famous Newbery Medal.
Contents
What is Dragonwings About?
Dragonwings explores the lives of Chinese American people in the United States. The story is set in San Francisco around the early 1900s.
The main character is a boy named Moon Shadow Lee. He grew up in China and had never met his father. His father had traveled to "The Golden Mountain" (which is what Chinese immigrants called America). There, he worked hard in a family laundry business. This business served the "white demons," which was a term for non-Chinese Americans.
When Moon Shadow is nine years old, a distant relative named Hand Clap visits China. Moon Shadow travels back to the United States with Hand Clap. Soon, Moon Shadow is reunited with his father. He receives wonderful gifts from his father, uncle, and a new friend. His uncle gives him new black leather boots. His new friend gives him trousers and a shirt. His father, who is very skilled at making kites, gives him a beautiful kite.
Moon Shadow learns that his father, Windrider, has a special dream. Windrider believes he was once a great dragon king in a past life. He is determined to become worthy enough to be a dragon again. Moon Shadow supports his father's dream. They face many challenges together. These include the terrible Great Earthquake, being poor, and the differences between Chinese people and Americans. Moon Shadow also learns to find his own place in life while dealing with his family.
Part of the story is based on a real event. This event happened in 1909 and involved a young Chinese pilot named Fung Joe Guey.
Awards and Recognition
The CLA Phoenix Award is named after the mythical bird phoenix. This bird is reborn from its ashes. The award suggests that the winning book rises again after twenty years. But Dragonwings was already well-known in 1975.
It was an Honor Book for two major awards:
- The American Library Association Newbery Medal, which honors the best U.S. children's book of the year.
- The Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for children's fiction.
The book also won an International Reading Association Children's Book Award. It appeared on the annual booklists of School Library Journal and The New York Times.
The Play Version
Dragonwings was turned into a stage play by the author, Laurence Yep, in 1991. The Berkeley Repertory Theatre asked him to create it. The play first toured schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. Phyllis S.K. Look directed the play. It was published by Dramatists Play Service in 1993.
The Golden Mountain Chronicles Series
Dragonwings is part of a family saga called the Golden Mountain Chronicles. This series follows the Young family, starting in China. The book Dragons of Silk (published in 2011) covers several generations and brings the story up to the present day. Before that, nine other novels in the series were set between 1849 and 1995.
Here are the books in the series:
- The Serpent's Children, set in 1849 (published 1984)
- Mountain Light, set in 1855 (published 1985)
- Dragon's Gate, set in 1867 (published 1993)
- The Traitor, set in 1885 (published 2003)
- Dragonwings, set in 1903 (published 1975)
- Dragon Road, set in 1939 (published 2007); originally called The Red Warrior
- Child of the Owl, set in 1960 (published 1977)
- Sea Glass, set in 1970 (published 1979)
- Thief of Hearts, set in 1995 (published 1995)
- Dragons of Silk, set from 1835–2011 (published 2011)
Four of these ten historical novels are among Yep's most popular works in libraries. Dragonwings and Dragon's Gate were both runners-up for the Newbery Medal. Child of the Owl won the Horn Book Award.
