Dragonwings Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
In this Newbery Honor Book, Moon Shadow is eight years old when he sails from China to join his father, Windrider, in America. Windrider lives in San Francisco and makes his living doing laundry. Father and son have never met.But Moon Shadow grows to love and respect his father and to believe in his wonderful dream. And Windrider, with Moon Shadow's help, is willing to endure the mockery of the other Chinese, the poverty, the separation from his wife and country, even the great earthquake, to make his dream come true.Inspired by the account of a Chinese immigrant who made a flying machine in 1909, Laurence Yep's historical novel beautifully portrays the rich traditions of the Chinese community as it made its way in a hostile new world.Supports the Common Core State Standards
Paperback: 248 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins; 25th edition (January 23, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0064400859
ISBN-13: 978-0064400855
Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 5.2 x 7.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (134 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #5,705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #3 in Books > Teens > Historical Fiction > United States > 20th Century #6 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Social & Family Issues > Family > Parents #183 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure
No one melds fact and myth into seamless storylines of historical fiction quite like Lawrence Yep. Like many of his tales, the remarkable, "Dragonwings", reflects on the Chinese experience in America. Says Yep in his author's note, "I have tried to make some of these dry historical facts become living experiences". The result is a book that certain kids will grow attached to and respect. Admittedly, it is not a book for all children, but for what it offers it is an impressive work.The plot follows Moon Shadow, a boy sent from his native China to live with his father in the Land of the Gold Mountains a.k.a San Francisco in 1903. While there, Moon Shadow learns a great deal about the ways the white settlers (referred to in this text, without exception, as demons) reacted to the Chinese in California. Yep does not play down the characters' difficulties, but Moon Shadow and his father, Windrider, learn the ways in which they may live their lives acceptably. They befriend their white employers, survive the great San Francisco earthquake, and finally Windrider follows his dream of making a flying machine just as the Wright Brothers did. This portion of the book is based on the true story of a Chinese immigrant that on September 22, 1909 flew from the hills of Oakland, California. As Yep points out in his author's note, this book is a historical fantasy and not an actual factual construction. Nonetheless, Windrider's quest is such that you feel just as caught up in the excitement of the moment as he is when at last he is able to test his creation.What is so impressive about Lawrence Yep's writing is how he accepts that there are no hard and fast rules about the ways in which people act and react.
Dragonwings
