Dragonwings
Encyclopedia
Dragonwings is an award-winning children's novel written by Laurence Yep
. The book won the IRA
Children's Book Award and is a 1976 Newbery Honor Book. The book is used as educational material and has been made into a play.
Lee travels to America from China in the early 20th century. He is brought to his father by their cousin. His father, Windrider, who lives in San Francisco after the father has earned the money for his passage by working in a family-owned laundry. Eventually the father takes a job as a janitor/repairman to be able to more freely study aeronautics in his spare time. Inspired by the Wright brothers and his belief that he was a dragon in his former life (having a human form is a punishment), Windrider builds a flying machine he calls Dragonwings, accounting for the book's title. All the money Windrider earns working goes into his airplane project, delaying a reunion with his wife, Moon Shadow's mother, who has remained behind in China waiting for the money needed for her trip to The Golden Mountain, their name for San Francisco. The great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 is among the interesting and exciting setbacks the father and son face. When Windrider finally has a short flight in 1909, crashes, and is injured, father and son agree that it is time to focus their resources on bringing the wife and mother to America. Told in first person by Moon Shadow, the novel is interesting and engaging on many levels and is appropriate for both middle grade readers and young adults. Yep spent six years researching Chinatown in the 1900s in order to accurately recreate it in the novel. Part of the story is based on an actual event that took place in 1909 involving a young Chinese flier.
. It premiered as a school tour in the San Francisco Bay Area
and was directed by Phyllis S.K. Look. The play was published by Dramatists Play Service
in 1993.
Laurence Yep
-Background:Chinese-American, Yep was born in San Francisco, California to Yep Gim Lew and Franche. His older brother, Thomas named him after studying a particular saint in a multicultural neighborhood that consisted of mostly African Americans. Growing up, he often felt torn between both...
. The book won the IRA
International Reading Association
The International Reading Association is an international professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dialogue about research on reading, and encourage the habit of reading....
Children's Book Award and is a 1976 Newbery Honor Book. The book is used as educational material and has been made into a play.
Content
Inspired by the author's experience Dragonwings explores the inner life of a young boy growing up between two cultures by allowing readers into the boy's thoughts. In the book, Moon ShadowMoon Shadow
Moon Shadow is a musician and professional wrestling personality who uses the stage name Goldylocks or Goldy Locks. Shadow is perhaps best known for her appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as an interviewer and manager....
Lee travels to America from China in the early 20th century. He is brought to his father by their cousin. His father, Windrider, who lives in San Francisco after the father has earned the money for his passage by working in a family-owned laundry. Eventually the father takes a job as a janitor/repairman to be able to more freely study aeronautics in his spare time. Inspired by the Wright brothers and his belief that he was a dragon in his former life (having a human form is a punishment), Windrider builds a flying machine he calls Dragonwings, accounting for the book's title. All the money Windrider earns working goes into his airplane project, delaying a reunion with his wife, Moon Shadow's mother, who has remained behind in China waiting for the money needed for her trip to The Golden Mountain, their name for San Francisco. The great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 is among the interesting and exciting setbacks the father and son face. When Windrider finally has a short flight in 1909, crashes, and is injured, father and son agree that it is time to focus their resources on bringing the wife and mother to America. Told in first person by Moon Shadow, the novel is interesting and engaging on many levels and is appropriate for both middle grade readers and young adults. Yep spent six years researching Chinatown in the 1900s in order to accurately recreate it in the novel. Part of the story is based on an actual event that took place in 1909 involving a young Chinese flier.
Awards
- School Library Journal Best Book
- New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year
- Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Honor Book
- International Reading Association Children's Book Award
- Newbery Honor Book
Play
Dragonwings was adapted as a stageplay by the author in 1991, commissioned by Berkeley Repertory TheatreBerkeley Repertory Theatre
Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1968, as the East Bay’s first resident professional theatre. Michael Leibert was the founding artistic director, who was then succeeded by Sharon Ott in 1984. The company runs seven...
. It premiered as a school tour in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
and was directed by Phyllis S.K. Look. The play was published by Dramatists Play Service
Dramatists Play Service
Established in 1936 by members of the Dramatists Guild and the Society for Authors' Representatives, Dramatists Play Service, Inc. is a theatrical publishing and licensing house...
in 1993.
Source
- Harper Collins
- http://www.reading.ccsu.edu/TheDragonLode/DLVol182Sp2000/DLVol182Sp2000%2041-51.pdf
- Leimbach, Dulcie. "For Children." The New York Times. November 6, 1992. Online March 12, 2008.
- ALA Newbery Medal & Honor Books, 1922-Present.
External links
- Dragonwings play script on Dramatists Play Service
- Dragonwings study guide, themes, quotes, character analyses, literary devices, teaching resources