Bibliography
Lin,
Grace. 2006. THE YEAR OF THE DOG. New York: Little Brown. ISBN
0316060003
Brief Summary Plot
Pacy
is a young Taiwanese-American girl about to welcome in another Chinese New Year
with her family. This year will be known as the Year of the Dog. Pacy’s mother
informs her the Year of the Dog is for family and friends, but more importantly
“it’s a good year to find yourself.” Pacy’s year will be about discovering who
she is, where her talents lie, and how she can balance her
Taiwanese/Chinese/American culture so she can equally identify with each.
During the year Pacy becomes best friends with another classmate, Melody, who
just happens to be Taiwanese herself. She quickly discovers another side to her
Taiwanese culture through their friendship. Through her self-discovery, she
participates in the Science Fair, acts in the school play, attends
Taiwanese-American Convention (TAC), and writes and illustrates her own book.
As the year comes to a close and the New Year to be ushered in becomes the Year
of the Pig, Pacy reflects on all the events that had come to past and concludes
that the Year of the Dog had indeed been a very good year.
Critical Analysis
Grace Lin has written a coming of age book about a young
Taiwanese-American girl because “this is the book I wished I had growing up.”
Just like Grace Lin, Pacy lives in upstate New York, New Hartford to be exact.
Pacy tells her story in first person as she shares her life with her family,
which consist of her Dad, Mom, older sister, Lissy and younger sister, Ki-Ki. At
school Pacy is known is known by her American name, Grace and her sister, Lissy
is called Beatrice. Besides her sister Lissy, Pacy is the only Chinese girl at
her school until Melody enrolls. She too is Taiwanese - American. The girls
quickly bond and although they do have their differences, the friendship that
is forged is deeply connected by their similarities. Pacy is conflicted by her
mixed culture; at one point she says to her mother, It’s not fair. To
Americans, I’m too Chinese, and to Chinese people, I’m too American. So which
one am I supposed to be?”
The author has written a story that is authentically accurate.
She alternates from the current day setting of upstate New York to a previous
era when Pacy’s mother would share stories from her childhood or even Pacy’s
grandfather’s life. When the mother is giving the details of each story the
font changes in the text to italicized. Each story would somehow connect to a
conflict that Pacy would be currently experiencing. For example, when Pacy was
exhausted and was too tired to go to school, Mother begins to ask, “Did I ever
tell you about the time I feel asleep in school?”
Another example would be when Pacy was feeling discouraged
about her book. Her mother tries to inspire her with “ The Paper Piano.” Pacy’s
mother says, “work on your book a little bit every day, if you want it to be
good, just like practicing the piano.” Each short narrative within Pacy’s story
is engaging and is perfectly paired to offer a moral or lesson with Pacy’s
dilemma.
Cultural markers within the text for a specific culture are
well represented as Pacy and her mother give details into their culture by the
stories told by each. Pacy is trying to understand her own identity, but is
confused by the conflict presented between her American culture and Chinese
culture.
Cultural markers for language can be seen with the New Year
celebration in chapter one. Dad exclaims, “Gong xi-gong! Xin-nian kuai le!”
which means Happy New Year! Pacy is frequently asked “Ja Ba bei?” at a family
gathering. Hong Bao are the Chinese words for red envelope. At cousin Albert’s
Red egg party, a large red banner was displayed with Chinese letters saying,
"Welcome Albert!” Identifying cultural markers for names of characters include
Pacy, Lissy, Ki-Ki, Mei, and Uncle Shin.
Food plays an important role throughout the book. For
celebrations, grocery shopping, and visiting friends there is mention of food.
Some food items mentioned include roasted duck, New Year’s candy (sticky taffy
melon candy), fried dumplings, vegetables, shrimp in milky sauce, steamed buns,
pork colored a brilliant ruby pink, rice porridge, foo yung don, lychees,
yellow ginger soup, and tofu.
Celebrations are also a frequent cultural marker. Chinese
New Year is introduced as the story opens, as well as at the end. For her
cousin Albert’s birth, a celebration took place called Red Egg party. Red eggs
symbolize good luck. The eggs are died red from the dye of red envelopes. At
the celebration, red envelopes containing money are also placed in Albert’s
crib.
Several stereotypes are portrayed within the book. For
example, when Pacy attends Taiwanese-American Convention, several girls
discover that she can’t speak Chinese or Taiwanese. One girl calls her “a Twinkie”
because she is “yellow on the outside, but white on the inside.” At school, a
lunch lady mistakenly assumes Pacy has come back for seconds. She is suspicious
of Pacy and assumes that because she is the only Asian American at the school, so
she assumes Pacy has to be lying about getting additional spaghetti and fries.
In reality, a new student, Melody, also Taiwanese enrolled at school the same
day. Finally, Pacy is excited to audition for the lead role of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz production at school. When
Pacy inquires to Becky about being Dorothy, Becky replies, “You can’t be
Dorothy. Dorothy is not Chinese.” The
Five Chinese Brothers picture book is also mentioned in the story. Pacy is
looking for Chinese people in books at the library to decide what topic she
will write on. When she discovers that the only book with Chinese people in it
is The Five Chinese Brothers, she
immediately says, “These aren’t real Chinese people, …..Your brother doesn’t
have a ponytail.”
The illustrations within the book are simple ink drawings.
The sketches are quite helpful to identify events happening throughout the story.
Since Pacy is the one drawing each picture, the pictures have a childlike
quality to them, but easily understood. She also labels each picture she draws.
When Pacy draws her family, she pictures them with dark hair, but she does not
identify their ethnicity by facial features.
One cultural marker to note within the illustrations is when
the family attends Albert’s Red Egg party. Pacy draws her sisters in
traditional Chinese dresses that were “all silky and shiny and had collars that
were buttoned close around the neck.” She also depicts children wearing
traditional clothing while celebrating the fictitious “Day of the Unicorn.”
The themes for this story would include self-acceptance,
respect for others, racism, friendship, and family. As Pacy begins to
understand her culture, she takes pride in her culture, yet she does not let it
define who she is.
At the end of the book are the author’s notes where Grace
Lin gives insight into why she wrote this book. She saw everything she loved
and lived in the books she read growing up, but she didn’t see herself. By
writing this book “the fabric of my life is richer.” Grace Lin has also written a sequel to this
book called The Year of the Rat.
Awards
American Library Association Notable Books for Children,
Winner 2007
Asian Pacific American Award
for Literature, Honorable Mention United States 2006 -2007
Bluestem Award, Master List
Illinois 2011
Texas Bluebonnet Award, Master
List Texas 2007 - 2008
Review Excerpts
Booklist reviewed
January 1, 2006: Told in a simple, direct voice, her story follows young
Grace through the Year of the Dog, one that Grace hopes will prove lucky for
her. And what a year it is! Grace meets a new friend, another Asian girl, and
together they enter a science fair, share a crush on the same boy, and enjoy
special aspects of their heritage (food!). Grace even wins fourth place in a
national book-writing contest and finds her true purpose in life. Lin, who is
known for her picture books, dots the text with charming ink drawings, some
priceless, such as one picturing Grace dressed as a munchkin. Most of the
chapters are bolstered by anecdotes from Grace's parents, which connect Grace
(and the reader) to her Taiwanese heritage. Lin does a remarkable job capturing
the soul and the spirit of books like those of Hayward or Maud Hart Lovelace,
reimagining them through the lens of her own story, and transforming their
special qualities into something new for today's young readers. Ilene Cooper
Publishers Weekly reviewed
January 2,2006: Lin, best known for her
picture books, here offers up a charming first novel, an autobiographical tale
of an Asian-American girl's sweet and funny insights on family, identity and
friendship. Lin creates an endearing protagonist, realistically dealing with
universal emotions and situations. The well-structured story, divided into 29
brief chapters, introduces traditional customs (e.g., Hong Bao are special red
envelopes with money in them, given as New Year's presents), culture and
cuisine, and includes several apropos "flashback" anecdotes, mainly
from Pacy's mother. The book's inviting design suggests a journal, and features
childlike spot illustrations and a typeface with a hand- lettered quality.
Girls everywhere, but especially those in the Asian-American community, will
find much to embrace here. Ages 8-12.
Connections
Students can write a story about their own life, following
the examples provided within the text.
Students can write about a quality that they find unique
about themselves.
Students can research the Chinese zodiac and identify which
year they were born and qualities associated with the animal the year they were
born.
References
Publishers Weekly. “The Year of the Dog”.
Publishersweekly.com http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-316-06000-4
(accessed November 5, 2015)
TWU Library Database – Books In Print
(accessed November 5, 2015)
TWU
Library Database - Children’ Literature Comprehensive Database
(accessed November 5, 2015)
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