''Dragonwings'' is a

children's A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

Laurence Yep Laurence Michael Yep ( zh, t=葉祥添, s=叶祥添, p=Yè Xiángtiān, j=Jip6 Coeng4 Tim1; born June 14, 1948) is an American writer. He is known for his children's books, having won the Newbery Honor twice for his ''Golden Mountain'' series. I ...

, published by

Harper & Row Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper and his brother John, the company operated as J. & J. Harper until 1833, when ...

in 1975. It inaugurated the ''Golden Mountain Chronicles'' and is the fifth chronicle in narrative sequence among ten published as of 2012. The book is used in school classrooms and has been adapted as a play under its original title. Yep and ''Dragonwings'' won the

Phoenix Award The Phoenix Award annually recognizes one English-language children's book published twenty years earlier that did not then win a major literary award. It is named for the mythical bird phoenix that is reborn from its own ashes, signifying the boo ...

from the

Children's Literature Association The Children's Literature Association (ChLA) is a non-profit association, based in the United States, of scholars, critics, professors, students, librarians, teachers, and institutions dedicated to studying children's literature.Margaret W. Denman ...

in 1995, recognizing the best children's book published twenty years earlier that did not win a major award. It had been a runner-up for the annual

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

Content

''Dragonwings'' features the

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

experience in the United States, specifically

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, shortly after the turn of the twentieth century. The protagonist is Moon Shadow Lee (or in the Chinese order, ''Lee Moon Shadow''). Moon Shadow grows up in China, having never seen his father, who had traveled to " The Golden Mountain" in America and worked hard in a family laundry which served the " white demons" (Americans). When Moon Shadow is nine (eight in American calculation), a distant relative, Hand Clap, returns to China for a visit and when Hand Clap returns to the United States, Moon Shadow goes with him. Moon Shadow is soon meets his father, Wind Rider, and receives a few wonderful gifts from his father, uncle, and new friend. From his uncle he receives a pair of new black leather boots. From his new friend he receives some trousers and a shirt. Finally, he receives a beautiful kite from his father, for whom kite making is a specialty. Moon Shadow discovers that Wind Rider had a dream of a great dragon king. In his dream, Wind Rider learned he was a dragon in his former life and is determined to be worthy enough to again become a dragon. Moon Shadow supports and encourage Wind Rider, even as they suffer hardships like the Great Earthquake, poverty, and the gap between the Tang (Chinese) and white demons (Americans). Moon Shadow goes through situations with family and has to find his place in life. Part of the story is based on an actual event that took place in 1909 involving a young Chinese flier named

Fung Joe Guey Feng Ru (; 1883–1912), also known as Fung Joe Guey (), was a pioneering Chinese aviator and aircraft designer. Life and career Born in Enping, Guangdong, Feng moved to the United States at the age of twelve, living and working in various part ...

Awards

The CLA Phoenix Award is named for the mythical bird phoenix, which is reborn from its ashes, to suggest the winning book's rise from obscurity during twenty years since its publication. ''Dragonwings'' was not unrecognized in 1975. It was a runner-up (Honor Book) for both the American Library Association

, recognizing the year's best U.S. children's book, and the

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award The ''Boston Globe''–''Horn'' Book Awards are a set of American literary awards conferred by ''The Boston Globe'' and ''The Horn Book Magazine'' annually from 1967. One book is recognized in each of four categories: Fiction and Poetry, Nonficti ...

for children's fiction. It won an

International Reading Association The International Literacy Association (ILA), formerly the International Reading Association (IRA), is an international global advocacy and member professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dial ...

Children's Book Award and it made ''School Library Journal'' and ''The New York Times'' annual booklists.

Play

''Dragonwings'' was adapted as a stage play by the author in 1991, commissioned by

Berkeley Repertory Theatre Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a Regional theater in the United States, regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. It runs seven productions each season from its two stages in Downtown Berkeley, California, Downtown Berkeley. Histor ...

. It premiered as a school tour in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

and was directed by Phyllis S.K. Look. The play was published by

Dramatists Play Service Dramatists Play Service is a theatrical-publishing and licensing house imprint of Broadway Licensing Global. Established in 1936 by members of the Dramatists Guild of America and the Society for Authors' Representatives, DPS publishes English-la ...

in 1993.

''Golden Mountain Chronicles''

The

family saga The family saga is a genre of literature which chronicles the lives and doings of a family or a number of related or interconnected families over a period of time. In novels (or sometimes sequences of novels) with a serious intent, this is often ...

follows the Young family, initially in China. ''Dragons of Silk'' (2011) spans a few generations and brings the story to the present; nine previous novels have been dated 1849 to 1995. # ''The Serpent's Children'', set in 1849 (1984) # ''Mountain Light'', 1855 (1985) # ''Dragon's Gate'', 1867 (1993) # ''The Traitor'', 1885 (2003) # ''Dragonwings'', 1903 (1975) # ''Dragon Road'', 1939 (2007); originally ''The Red Warrior'' # ''Child of the Owl'', 1960 (1977) # ''Sea Glass'', 1970 (1979) # ''Thief of Hearts'', 1995 (1995) # ''Dragons of Silk'', 1835–2011 (2011) In order of year of publication: # ''Dragonwings'', 1903 (1975) # ''Child of the Owl'', 1960 (1977) # ''Sea Glass'', 1970 (1979) # ''The Serpent's Children'', set in 1849 (1984) # ''Mountain Light'', 1855 (1985) # ''Dragon's Gate'', 1867 (1993) # ''Thief of Hearts'', 1995 (1995) # ''The Traitor'', 1885 (2003) # ''Dragon Road'', 1939 (2007); originally ''The Red Warrior'' # ''Dragons of Silk'', 1835–2011 (2011) Four of the ten historical novels are among Yep's five works most widely held in WorldCat libraries."Yep, Laurence"
WorldCat. Retrieved 2013-03-03. ''Dragonwings'' and ''Dragon's Gate'' were runners-up for the

; ''Child of the Owl'' won the

Horn Book Award Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family o ...

References

{{Reflist, refs= "Phoenix Award Brochure 2012"
{dead link, date=December 2016 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes.

. Retrieved 2013-03-02.
See also the current homepage
"Phoenix Award"

External links

"Dragonwings: Golden Mountain Chronicles: 1903"
at HarperCollinsPublishers (with related material)
"Conversations with Yep and Soentpiet: Negotiationing between cultures: Establishing a multicultural identity through writing and illustrating"
Marcia Baghban. ''The Dragon Lode'' 18.2 (Spring 2000) pp. 41–51. IRA.

* ttp://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal.cfm ALA Newbery Medal & Honor Books, 1922–present.
''Dragonwings'' Laurence Yep
children's drama at Dramatists Play Service (abstract with script for sale) Fiction set in 1903 1975 American novels 1975 children's books American children's novels American historical novels Asian-American plays Carter G. Woodson Book Award winners Children's historical novels Newbery Honor–winning works Novels by Laurence Yep Novels set in San Francisco Wright brothers Children's books set in San Francisco Children's books set in the 1900s Children's books about race and ethnicity