Oct 26 2009
The Year of the Dog
The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin
I had the opportunity to hear Grace Lin talk last year about writing and illustrating books. After listening to her, I knew that I wanted to read The Year of the Dog, her first chapter book.
The story takes place over the course of 12 months, the year of the dog, according to the Chinese calendar. This book is autobiographical and in each chapter, Grace tells us the story of a funny and heart-warming memory, such as becoming friends with the only other Chinese-American girl, entering a project into the science fair, liking the same boy as her best friend, and getting a part in the play, The Wizard of Oz. Scattered throughout the chapters are charming stories told by her grandmother of what it was like for her family to grow up in China. And, of course, Grace has included her illustrations throughout which are adorable.
I loved how simple and funny each chapter was. Grace is very honest when she writes about how she struggled with finding a place in her part Chinese, part American world.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loved Tomie dePaola’s 26 Fairmount Avenue. If you want to read more about Grace then don’t forget to read the sequel, The Year of the Rat. Or, for a boy’s point of view, try Alvin Ho, Allergic to Girls, Schools and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look.


And here’s a very short video where Grace Lin explains why she writes about her heritage.
Grace has a great web site; don’t forget to check it out!








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