The Jade Dragon

This is a novel that may be read by the teacher to a fourth grade class.It is written by Carolyn Marsden and Virginia Shin-Mui Loh.Virginia Says, "It is important to have stories that reflect the contemporary realities of Asian Americans." My hypothesis is that Virginia grew up in the United States as an American, but with a Asian background.

There are two Asian girls in the book. One girl her parents are from China,and the family lives in the United States. The other girl in the book is adopted from China into an American Family.The American Family does have a stereotypical idea about the Chinese Family.I think this stems from some ingnorance or not wanting to learn about another culture.There is a great deal of stigma between both families. The Chinese family thinks the American family is strange. The American family thinks the Chinese family is strange. The values in each family are very different.

The two families appear to be from two different socioeconomic backgrounds. It doesn't specifially say a whole lot, but the American Family drives a Mercedes Benz. It is unclear the socioeconomic status of the Chinese family.The book only mentions in one part that the dad took of his tie.

I think the two different worlds are portrayed accurately.The American family is trying to make life as easy as they can on their adopted daughter. The Chinese family on the other hand doesn't make it easy for their daughter to fit into American white culture.The book talks about many foods that the Chinese eat, and I've heard of most of them myself.

The setting is definitely real. What happens in this story probably occurs every day in America. After all this is the melting pot of the world.

I don't agree with how the chinese words are used in the book. They only come up when the parents of the Chinese girl are disappointed with her. It is though they are reminding their daugter that she has only learned English as a way to communicate with the kids in school. She should still know Chinese because this is part of her culture.The book does a great job of social issues by may portray some stereotypical references in some ways.In the American Family the mother goes to work at a very nice job. On the other hand the Chinese mother stays at home and tends to the house. One family is more traditional is many ways.