Flying the Dragon
-
-
3.9 • 8 Ratings
-
-
- $7.99
-
- $7.99
Publisher Description
NY Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
A young American girl grapples with her Japanese heritage in this “quiet, beautifully moving portrayal of a multicultural family” for middle grade readers (School Library Journal)
American-born Skye is a good student and a star soccer player who never really gives any thought to the fact that her father is Japanese. Her cousin, Hiroshi, lives in Japan, and never really gives a thought to his uncle’s family living in the United States.
Skye and Hiroshi’s lives are thrown together when Hiroshi’s family, with his grandfather (who is also his best friend), suddenly moves to the U.S. Now Skye doesn’t know who she is anymore: at school she's suddenly too Japanese, but at home she's not Japanese enough. Hiroshi has a hard time adjusting to life in a new culture, and resents Skye’s intrusions on his time with Grandfather. Through all of this is woven Hiroshi’s expertise, and Skye’s growing interest in, kite making and competitive rokkaku kite flying.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Skye's family hasn't spoken to her Japanese relatives for as long as she can remember, but her grandfather's illness brings him, Skye's cousin Hiroshi, and his parents to Virginia while Grandfather receives cancer treatments. Now, instead of joining the All-Star summer soccer team, Skye is expected to attend Saturday Japanese school and look out for Hiroshi. Hiroshi is equally resentful that he's missing his first rokkaku kite battle in Japan, a shared activity with Grandfather, a rokkaku champion and master kite-builder. In short, third-person chapters that alternate between the two fifth-graders, debut novelist Lorenzi offers an empathetic and quietly affecting fish-out-of-water story, with both children struggling with disappointments, prejudice, language difficulties, and being caught between cultures. (Worried about spreading germs, Hiroshi wears a paper mask to school, mortifying his cousin; Skye, meanwhile, is overwhelmed by Japanese number systems: "here was another set of numbers for birds and rabbits?") As Grandfather's health declines, the reluctant friendship between Skye and Hiroshi develops naturally and with gentle humor, as they find commonalities and a shared love for rokkaku. Ages 9 12.
Customer Reviews
Asdfghjk
Asdfghjkl;'sxdfghjkl