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Grace Lin is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. She is the author and illustrator of eight picture books, and the illustrator of over nine more. She grew up in upstate New York and now lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Robert.
"Yes," Dad said over the phone to Uncle Leo, "happy Year of the Dog!"
"What does it mean when it's the Year of the Dog?" I asked. Our kitchen was full of rich, heavy smells because Mom and Lissy were cooking the special Chinese New Year dinner. I was teaching Ki-Ki how to draw a dog for our decorations. "I know every Chinese New Year is a different animal, but is something special supposed to happen because it's the Year of the Dog?"
"Yes," Lissy told me, nodding her head so hard that her black hair swung back and forth. Lissy always thought she knew everything. "You know how they say a dog is a man's best friend? Well, in the Year of the Dog you find your best friends."
"That's true," Mom said, her hands mixing speckled brown meat, "because dogs are faithful. They say the Year of the Dog is the year for friends and family. But there's more to it than that. The Year of the Dog is also for thinking. Since dogs are also honest and sincere, it's a good year to find yourself."
"Find myself?" Ki-Ki said. "Why? I'm not lost."
We all laughed and Mom tried to explain.
"No," she said, "finding yourself means deciding what your values are, what you want to do-that kind of thing."
"Like deciding what you want to be when you grow up?" I asked.
"Yes." Mom nodded her head.
"Well," Lissy said, "I've decided I'm definitely NOT going to be a chef, because I'm tired of cooking. We still have to make the shrimp, the pork, and the vegetables. We're never going to eat!" "We will, we will," Mom said, and she looked at the clock. "Pacy, stop drawing and go fill the New Year tray." I went to the cabinet and took out the New Year tray. We had polished it so much that I could see myself shining in the red and black wood. I also took out a bag of the special Chinese New Year candy. It's very important that the New Year tray is filled with candy. If it's full of sweet things, it means your year will be full of sweet things.
Ki-Ki hung up our drawings and then came over to help me, though she didn't really help much. All she did was eat the candy. She loved New Year's candy. I don't know why. It isn't real candy like chocolate or lollipops. New Year's candy is sticky taffy melon candy, the color of the moon. Ki-Ki kept eating the candy, so I couldn't fill the whole tray. I looked in the cupboard for more, but there wasn't any more. But there were rainbow- colored M&M's. I loved M&M's. That's real candy. So I fitted the rest of the tray with that.
When Lissy saw the tray, her mouth made a big 0. "You can't fill the tray with M&M's," she told me. "It's a Chinese tray; only Chinese candy is supposed to go in it."
"But there's not enough Chinese candy to fill it," I told her.
We both looked at the tray. We couldn't decide if it was better to have the tray be half empty with only Chinese candy or full with Chinese and American candy.
Mom was frying food, so we took the tray to Dad. He scooped up a big handful of Chinese candy and M&M's and ate it.
"This way is good," he said. "We should have both Chinese and American candy for the new year. It's just like us-Chinese-American. I think it's going to be a very sweet year!"
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin Copyright © 2006 by Grace Lin. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Anonymous
Posted January 22, 2012
Just read it!!!!
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Posted January 15, 2012
Well i hve read the book bfore already and i mean it was good but then it was kinda boring..so its not that great of a book..
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Posted December 29, 2011
It's not really all that good, because as a Vietnamese American I am kinda offended. The kids probably aren't that mean, and the describing words sound as if she's trying waaaay too hard. Try reading Wendy Mass. She's tons better. She also should have had ither choices besides being an author. So what i'm really trying to say is...... It's nit the best book. Bye!
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Posted December 10, 2011
This is a very good book. I also love all of the stories in side of the story!!:)
Anonymous
Posted December 9, 2011
I love it!!! Such a good book
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Posted December 8, 2011
I read this book in third grade and we all enjoyed it and read the following book year of te rat. A good read for kids 8-11
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Posted October 14, 2011
Ok bexause it was kind of boring when grace was complaning because she hates nutricius food like brown rice and uncooked vegetables
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This novel is a charming and entertaining way to learn some Taiwanese and Chinese cultural events and celebrations. What is a red egg party for? What does "Ja-be, bei?" mean? Whose parent is a botanist? What is a botanist? And what experiment was performed in the novel? What does TAC stand for? And what happened at TAC? These and many other intriguing questions are answered within the storyline of "The Year of the Dog." Also the short stories throughout the novel are fascinating and interesting, and definitely should capture your imagination. *Enjoyable, easy-to- read, and easy-to-comprehend storyline with engaging characters.
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Posted October 1, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted July 2, 2011
This book is awesome for children and even adults. I love how it is pacys (grace:) diary. In short this is an awesome novel so enjoy it
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Posted June 23, 2011
The book is so great! I like the part when grace bumped her head on the table!
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Posted April 23, 2011
This is an inspirational book with some funny stuff in it. If you have acted in a play or written a story, read this book.
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Posted July 23, 2009
I Also Recommend:
This book has so many true feelings in it! The Year of the Dog is a great book for all ages. Also good for classroom reading.
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Posted June 10, 2008
i really loved this book.it made me think about finding myself.this book was a page turner!!
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Posted February 27, 2008
I don't think this is a good book. The details are poor, and the plot falls apart. I almost fell asleep while I read it.
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Posted June 15, 2007
This 2007-2008 Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee is a winner. The main character, Grace, a Taiwanese American, shares her culture's tradition and is overjoyed when another Taiwanese family moves to the area and their daughter 'the same age as her'begins attending her school. This is a great read aloud that introduces children to the Asian American culture.
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Posted August 19, 2006
What I really liked about this book is that it explained some of the Chinese culture which was very interesting. What I liked best about their culture is that on the Chinese New Year they had real Chinese food and they filled their trays with candy. It was like a little party.
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Posted August 18, 2006
I think this book is ok. I like the illustrations but the story is'nt all that intresting, but it's not too bad either. I dont think that there is much of a plot, the characters are very believable though. The setting, on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being the most developed) would be a 6 beacause there are no pictures of the room but the word choice and details are extraordinary. There are lots of themes but they are'nt all clearly stated.
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Posted August 18, 2006
Two young friends, Grace and Melody,hope the the year of the dog will bring them good luck and fortune. Grace also hopes that this will be the year she discovers her talent. Short chapters, clever illustrations and neat stories told by Grace's Mom make this a good book to read in your spare time. Girls might like this book a little better than boys.
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Posted August 9, 2006
'The Year of the Dog' is about a Taiwanese-American girl that lived in New York surrounded by caucasian people. Later in the school year she met a Taiwanese-American girl just like her and they became friends. This story is about being American and Taiwanese and trying to mix the two cultures. The author, Grace Lin, is telling her own story about her childhood. It was a good story, and I learned more about Taiwanese customs.
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Overview
It's the Chinese Year of the Dog, and as Pacy celebrates with her family, she finds out that this is the year she is supposed to "find herself." Universal themes of friendship, family, and finding one's passion in life make this novel appealing to readers of all backgrounds. This funny and profound book is a wonderful debut novel by a prolific picture book author and illustrator and has all the makings of a classic.