The Year of the Dog

I really loved Grace Lin's fantasy stories, but as a teacher I'm constantly looking for new read alouds for my students that are out of my usual genre. I love fantasy stories, and I have a million great fantasy read alouds for kids, but hardly any realistic fiction, so I thought I'd try some of Lin's semi-autobiographical work. The Year of the Dog is the first in her series chronicling Pacy “Grace” Lin's childhood. Lin writes that she wanted to share her experience growing up as a Taiwanese American and to give Asian children a character to identify with.

The novel isn't exactly a page turner, but it might be a nice break from my usual read aloud fair. The chapters are short and feature the stories within stories which make her fantasy works so unique and powerful. She also isn't afraid to address racism and cultural barriers although their treatment is pretty glancing. As a teacher of many 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation immigrants, I think I might have to explore this with kids to see their reaction.