Dragonwings

This was a required read for my son in middle school. We both found it not very interesting in the beginning, but it did seem to get better towards the end and was an ok story overall.

This historical fiction is a heartwarming, entertaining, an informative story of a young boy who comes to America to live with the father he doesn't remember, during the early 1900's. The story gives a fascinating look at the Chinese culture both in the homeland of Middle China, and the culture of families, groups, gangs and religion in Chinatown. The setting begins in 1903 in China, and is told through the eyes of the eight year old Moon Shadow, as he relates scenes of his past and leads up to his arrival in San Francisco. He is taken into the brotherhood of his father in the laundry service. Moon Shadow is quickly exposed to the poverty and depravity of the shanty towns and the opium houses that affect his very brotherhood family. He learns the suspicion, ill-treatment, and injustice by other people due to an extreme prejudice against the Chinese peoples. As time progresses, Moon Shadow and his father, Windrider, move to a white neighborhood where they live in a barn of a white lady, who has boarders. They are soon befriended by the lady and her niece. Windrider is naturally talented with machines and mechanics, doing odd jobs for people in the community until the great earthquake and fire of 1906, when all survivors of the burned areas are moved to tent cities until the city can begin to rebuild. The Chinese are eventually separated from everyone and forced to move from camp to camp. Soon after Windrider and Moon Shadown start to help rebuild in Chinatown, they go off on their own to a windy hill in Oakland, where Moon Shadow helps his dad fulfill his dream of building and flying in a "flying machine." This book tells of an ongoing struggle with money, family, and nature, that is balanced with laughter, forgiveness, family and friends. This is a story you will long remember, with an honest look at the struggles of the Chinese integration into Western culture.

I love studying this book with my 5th grade students. The story deals with the Chinese immigrants who came to America in the early 1900,s and settled in San Francisco, and then faced many challenges. It leads to great discussions about different cultures and assimilation. The characters are so interesting as the Chinese and the ”white demons” interact. Many conflicts result, but many also grow in understanding and acceptance. The author’s use of humor appeals to the students too.

I use this with my 6th grade social studies students when covering the Chinese-American perspective during the 1800s. Great resource for building empathy and understanding of the struggles Chinese people faced as they try to make it in San Francisco while leaving behind their families and culture in China.

This is a great book and a good window into another culture and another time in history. I was reading it to my 8 year old son. I stopped because i felt it was a little too old for him. There are references to prostitution - which I wasn't ready to explain - and a character with an opiate addiction is a major plot point. I would say more appropriate for middle school age readers and above.

Dragonwings is interesting to those students who have Chinese heritage. It gives a vivid account of the Chinese immigration to San Francisco in the late nineteenth century couched in a narrative of hope and determination. I used the books with older English language learners who have been in the American school system since the early grades. Their reading level was good, but the vocabulary level was still challenging.

Very nice book

Bought two of these so my daughter and I could read together for her English class. Good story!

Great book and great read! Delivery was fast and efficient