So... I didn't know this until I searched for a picture of this book, but I bought the drama/play version of Dragonwings by Laurence Yep, as opposed to the novel. Whoops...Regardless, this has been my favorite book that I've read for our multicultural assignments so far. The multicultural books that I've read in the past have almost always dealt with Blacks or Latinos. This is probably one of the few Asian-American works that I've read and it was amazing to read a book that "gets me." I can imagine that good multicultural literature would have the same effect on my future students that come from ethnic-racial minority groups, which really motivates me to find great books that will connect with them.
Dragonwings is about a Chinese boy, Moon Shadow, and his family. His father, Windrider was a dragon in his past life and has a passion to fly again, which is why he spends the bulk of the story building an aeroplane. Moon Shadow is an immigrant boy trying to find his identity in a foreign land (America). The book takes place during the California Gold Rush and era of Chinese immigration. This was also a time of xenophobia and racism which comes up in the story. So many of the issues regarding racism towards Asians, that is largely untold by "quiet," uncomplaining Asians, is brought up in this book/play--immigration, language, institutionalized discrimination. I think this book is very suitable for middle school children. Also, it allows students to be creative. They can act out scenes and interpret the stage directions in their own way. Also, even the book is so short, it has a number of great vocabulary words appropriate for middle school students.
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