Lin, Grace. 2006. THE YEAR OF THE DOG. New York, NY. Little Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-06000-3

BIBLIOGRPAHY 

Lin, Grace. 2006. THE YEAR OF THE DOG. New York, NY. Little Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-06000-3 

PLOT SUMMARY 

The Year of the Dog, which symbolizes the year for friends, family and for herself becomes an interesting year for Pacy Lin. Her American name, Grace, is part of her journey towards her Taiwanese American identity as she learns about herself by identifying what are her strengths and weaknesses, she makes a new friend along the way and after not winning the school science  fair she finds her love for writing and wins a book writing contest which helps her reflect on what The Year of The Dog had in store for her.  

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS) 

The characters in this story are described authentically sharing their lives in Taiwan and how school was over there. They describe the differences in school, explain their Asian cuisine through their daily rice servings, egg foo young and Oolong tea amongst other foods. Grace Lin, describes her experience with wanting to be Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz play when we read, “Dorothy’s not Chinese.” This shows an interaction with other cultures as well as addresses a stereotype seen by children during this time. We see a good balance of emotions as Grace Lin makes a Taiwanese friend who turns out to be a good friend, she doesn’t win in the science fair but writes her own book which wins in a contest and catapults her life as an author. We can appreciate her mom’s memories of her life back home which draw on life-lessons for Grace Lin. 

The environment of this story is representative of her life as we can see the comparison between her Taiwanese home and that of her friends. Although they share the same foods, Grace Lin does not enjoy the healthier version of these foods. She goes to Taiwanese Camp where she meets other kids who speak English and who don’t speak Taiwanese like her. Her family celebrates Chinese New Year with all the traditional decorations, foods and customs. They welcome new family members with Red Eggs died with the red ink from the Chinese Red Envelopes. Through these examples we see rich cultural details consistent with their culture. There are small illustrations throughout the chapters representing the main point in the chapter and they are very interesting and provide detail to portray the culture accurately.  

This Chinese New Year fictional story meets the criteria for realistic fiction about holidays and traditions as well as school life for Asian American students. This novel invites the reader to reflect on the experiences students who have immigrant parents may go through as they may struggle to find a place to fit in with either culture or with both.  

REVIEW EXCERPTS 

ALA Notable Children’s Books, 2007 

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor, 2007 

Book Links starred, 03/01/06 

Booklist starred, 01/01/06 

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 02/01/06 

Horn Book Magazine, 03/01/06 

Kirkus Reviews, 12/15/06 

Publishers Weekly, 01/02/06 

School Library Journal, 03/01/06 

Texas: Bluebonnet Award Nominees, 2008 

Wilson’s Children, 10/01/10 

Booklist starred (January 1, 2006 (Vol. 102, No. 9): “Lin does a remarkable job capturing the soul and the spirit of books like those of Hayward and Muad Hart Lovelace, reimagining them through the lens of their own story, and transforming their special qualities into something new for today’s young readers.” 

Horn Book Magazine (March/April 2006): “The story, interwoven with several family anecdotes, is entertaining and often illuminating.” 

Kirkus Reviews (December 15, 2005): “This comfortable first-person story will be a treat for Asian American girls looking to see themselves in their reading, but also for any reader who enjoys stories of friendship and family life.” 

CONNECTIONS 

Making a recipe from one of the mentioned dishes such as dumplings would be a great way to taste the Asian dishes mentioned in this novel.  

Students can write a journal entry about a favorite friendship memory from school to reflect and relate to Grace Lin’s experience at school.  

Looking into Grace Lin’s website graceline.com will give readers more books to read by this author.