The Earth Dragon Awakes

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Yep, Laurence. 2006. THE EARTH DRAGON AWAKES: THE SAN FRANCISO EARTHQUAKE OF 1906. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN006027525.

PLOT SUMMARY-This historical fictional novel is chronicled through the eyes of eight year old Henry, a son of a banker and Ching, the son of a Chinese Immigrant who works for Henry’s father. Both Ching and Henry enjoyed reading action novels and together wished that their fathers were heroes, but “neither were exciting”. Little did the boys know that life would soon be changing, “underneath their feet, the earth begins to stir”. As both boys retire to their homes on opposites sides of town an earthquake strikes. As both families struggle to survive the aftermath, each boy begins to realize that their father’s are heroes. The Earth Dragon Awakes details the horrific 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the fires that followed the admirable acts of human kindness, and the heart warming story of true friendship.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Laurence Yep has authored a historical fiction novel that details the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 aimed at young readers. He reaches these readers by discussing his character's love of comic books or as Mrs. Travis would say "Penny Dreadfuls". Yep takes a unique perspective by telling his story through alternating views of his two young characters, Henry and Sing. Yep titles each page with entries like, “ 7:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 17th, 1906 …Travis Household…..Sacremento Street Area” this allows for young readers to understand where they are in the story and from what perspective it is being told. Laurence Yep does a great job blending history, culture and fiction seamlessly for young readers. He outlines many facts to the readers, such as “twenty thousand people have fled San Francisco” and goes on to include an afterword complete with facts and pictures.

Yep’s novel includes cultural markers through out his novel. He explains that Ching and his father Ah Sing live in Chinatown in a “tenement”. Ching remarks that his tenement (building) is different from his home in China- “Most are American looking, they look plain compared to the ones at home”. Yep tells readers the importance of the Chinese immigrants still connecting to their culture. He does this by having Ching complain that his father drags him all over Chinatown to run errands, to pick up “Chinese newspapers” and to talk with people of his community. You can infer the pride Ah Sing has when he has the opportunity to visit with friends. It is within these conversations that we meet Ah Quon , the butcher. Ah Quon tells Sing and Ah Sing about “asking heaven to keep the Earth Dragon quiet”. As he moves his character among Chinatown Yep informs the reader of culturally authentic games. Ching comments that he can hear “mahjong tiles clacking” as they approach their home. These are sounds of comfort to his character.

Yep does a nice job of developing his characters from the beginning Henry and Sing are portrayed as young boys but he shows how their maturity has grown as a result of life changing events. This book unfolds nicely and truly shows readers the characteristics of good citizenship and friendship beyond cultural lines.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
Booklist- “Told in the present tense, the narration provides a "you are there" sense of immediacy and will appeal to readers who enjoy action-packed survival stories.”

Horn Book Review- “Alternating a fictional story with short segments of factual information, Yep creates a frightening sense of immediacy in this docudrama about San Francisco's 1906 earthquake.”

Other Books by Laurence Yep:
Yep, Laurence. The Case of the Lion Dance. ISBN 9780060244477.
Yep, Laurence. The Khan's daughter : a Mongolian folktale. ISBN 9780590483902.