Yep, Laurence. (1995). American Dragons: Twenty-Five Asian American Voices. New York: Harper Collins. 237pp.

Grade Range: 10-12

Genre: short stories

Summary and Critique

Well-known and novice Asian American authors contributed twenty-five poems, short stories, and a play excerpt to this anthology. Each piece explores childhood or adolescent experiences. Rooted in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese backgrounds, these stories cover a wide range of topics related to love, racism, family relationships, and cultural conflicts. in "Who's Hu," an unpopular Chinese girl who loves math forfeits popularity in order to attend a math contest. A Vietnamese woman abandons her romance with an American man because her parents want her to have a traditional Vietnamese marriage in "Rain Music."

These stories are rich in depictions of the east-west cultural discrepancy and acculturation. Because of their short lengths and varied styles, teachers can teach the book in its entirety or incorporate individual pieces into other literary units. Critics note American Dragons as a collection that people from all cultures will enjoy.

Themes/Topics

Families

Race, Ethnicity, and Culture

War and Peace

Challenges and Triumphs

Generations

Friends and Enemies

The Individual vs. Society

Love, Sex, and Romance

Sports

Author Information

Laurence Yep was born and raised in San Francisco. He began writing science fiction while still in high school. Yep attended Marquette University, the University of California at Santa Cruz, and the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he earned a Ph.D. in English. In addition to writing novels for young adults, Yep also teaches at the university level. Two of Yep's novels, Dragonwings and Dragon's Gate, have been designated as Newbery Honor books.

For more information on Laurence Yep:

http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/yep.html Biography, bibliography, awards, and critical reviews and commentaries

http://www.harperchildrens.com/authorintro/index.asp?authorid=12929 Yep's official website, courtesy of Harper Collins Children's Books

Media Connections

Movies

The Joy Luck Club (1993) Explores the lives of four Chinese women and their relationships with their four Chinese-American daughters.

My Family/Mi Familia (1995) – Explores the struggles and triumphs of three generations of a Mexican-American family, beginning with one man's emigration from Mexico to Los Angeles in the 1930s and concluding with his descendants in the 1990s.

Soul Food (1997) Explores such issues as modern life versus tradition, a matriarchal family, loss of loved ones, and the African American experience.

Becoming American: The Chinese Experience (2003) A three-part PBS special hosted by Bill Moyers about Chinese immigration to America.

Do the Right Thing (1989) Spike Lee examines race relations, prejudice, and stereotypes in a Brooklyn neighborhood, all of which contribute to an unnecessary explosion of violence.

Tortilla Soup (2001) Three sisters and their father search for love and happiness while living and dining together in Los Angeles.

Online Resources

http://www.essortment.com/in/Culture.Asian/ Information on Asian culture.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/asian-american/notables.htm An introduction to notable Asian Pacific Americans: Asian Americans who make a difference, including Duke Kahanamoku , Feng Shan Ho, Dalip Singh Saund, Steven Chu, Yo-Yo Ma, Amy Tan, and Jerry Yang and their specific contributions to the U.S. and to the world.
http://www.asiasource.org/ Asia Source: a resource of Asia society.
http://www.nea.org/readacross/resources/aabooks.html#9 Asian American booklist for grades 9-12.
http://www.mysistahs.org/ This site has questions and answers on relationships, sexuality, and sexual health issues.
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/youth/index.htm This site provides information on helping youth fight for their rights to education, family planning, and sex education.

Related Texts

Say, Allen. (1993). Grandfather's Journey. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 32pp. Caldecott Medal winner. Say describes his grandfather's immigration to America and the complex love both men have for their native land of Japan and for America.

Wong, Janet. (1996). A Suitcase of Seaweed and Other Poems. New York: Margaret K. McElderry. 48pp. Drawing from her own experiences, Wong discusses both universal and cultural issues.

Young, Ed. (2003). Voices of the Heart. New York: Scholastic. 72pp. Young explores various Chinese representations of the heart and related emotions.

Zhang, Song Nan. (2000). A Time of Golden Dragons. Plattsburg, NY: Tundra Books. 24pp. Zhang discusses the significance of the dragon in Chinese history and culture.

Wells, Ruth. (1992). A to Zen: A Book of Japanese Culture. New York: Simon & Schuster. 28pp. An alphabet book about Japanese culture but written for an English speaking audience.

Nam,Vickie. (2001). Yell Oh Girls! Emerging Voices Explore Culture, Identity, and Growing up Asian American. New York: Quill. 297 pp. This anthology is compiled of short stories and poems by Asian females growing up in the United States. The authors address issues of cultural identity, racism, familial relationships, and sexuality.

Teaching Ideas

(1) "Sharing Favorites Texts" Ask students to find their favorite text they have read. It could be any type of text: some quote, a novel excerpt, or a poem. In class, students read and share their feelings about the text. This activity may help student find their interest in writing, and provides teacher an opportunity to recommend right source of text to the students.
[Summarized from "A Text That You Love" by Carolyn Steinhoof Smith, in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. August 2003, p. 13.]


(2)"Investigating Cultures" What is culture? A"culture" is a set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices characterizing a group. Every place people gather, like as small as a basketball game, a swim club, or as big as a country or a continent, has its own set of understood rules and customs----its culture. Discuss how different cultures have different customs and rules. People may feel uneasy and stupid when they first come to a new environment, because they don't know these customs and rules. Share my own experience and then ask to share from theirs. Find some examples through illustrated magazines like National Geographic and also through magazines that target dog owners, sports fans, fantasy game players, and so on. Ask students to point out the specific details the reporter used to capture the essentials of the culture. It's also interesting to have students select one culture that's familiar to them and then brainstorm for traditions that might seem odd to an outsider.

[Adapted from "Exploring Cultures through Writing" by Garth Sundem in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. April, 2003. p. 3.]

(3) "Q&A Game" This works as a warm-up activity for writing poetry. First, prepare a pile of index cards, pass out to the class, and ask each to take two cards. On the first card, ask students to write down a question (no matter how strange it might be) that they don't know but to which they want to know the answer. One the second card, ask them to write down an answer that they already know and produce a statement, but the statement cannot answer his/her own question. These questions and answers can be from any subject: their family, sports, music, politics, nature science, TV series... Collect the question and answer cards into two piles. Shuffle each pile of card in front of class. Make sure they are random. Read a pair of question and answer each time.
The results of some pairs of Q & As may be funny, some will be stupid, but some might be very profound and provoking. This aims at guiding student to find the fun and surprise in creative writing, because mixing unlike words and ideas is an important part of many types of poetry and nearly all forms of humor. When students laugh at the contrast between a question and an answer, their reaction can be a springboard for future discussions and compositions.
[Adapted from "All Answers Are Answers to All Questions" by Mark Peters in Classroom Notes Plus, Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English October 2003, p.11.]

(Review written by Yushu Fu and edited by Jennifer E. Moore)