Multicultural Literature and Children

 


All girls need a strong, female hero to look up to, whether it's in books, movies, TV shows, or real life. Hai Yin of Hai Yin the Dragon Girl by Joy Anderson provides just that. This tale takes place in Taiwan in the 1970s and tells the story of Hai Yin, a girl who wants nothing more than to win the lantern festival competition in her town and prove her brother, who believes all girls are silly and dumb, wrong. She works secretly and tirelessly to create a beautiful dragon lantern, a reminder that she was born in the year of the dragon, and becomes the first girl to ever win the lantern competition (Anderson, 1970). 

The illustrations of this book feature a hand-drawn look done by Jay Yang, the illustrator. The style is representational, as all the illustrations are of realistic items (Glada, 2017). The drawings look very similar to pen and watercolor line art. The cultural dress, architecture, food, and even some customs are all featured prominently, giving a full picture of what life was like in 1970s Taiwan. This book is contemporary realistic fiction, detailing the realistic life of a fictional character in a real country (Galda, 2017). 

Some motivational activities that could be completed with this assignment could include learning about the role dragons play in Taiwanese mythology and culture, learning about the lantern festivals of Taiwan, and what life was like there in the 1970s. 

Teacher: "Other cultures can seem very different from ours, but we're actually much more alike than you think. Have you ever wanted to prove someone wrong, especially a sibling? Maybe to show how capable you are?"

Class: {various responses}

Teacher: "This book is about a girl about your age living in Taiwan who's facing a very similar problem."

After the book:

Teacher: "So you see, Hai Yin's life isn't so different from life here in the United States. What is one thing you heard or saw in the story that reminded you of your life?"

Class: {various responses} 

It was very difficult to find any information on the author, Joy Anderson. I actually could not find much beyond her name. She only wrote 2-3 multicultural children's books, but this one was excellent, and it is a shame she did not receive more attention for her writing. 

REFERENCES: 

1. Anderson, Joy. "Hai Yin, The Dragon Girl". Harcourt, Brace, and World Inc., 1970. 

2. Galda, Lee. "Literature and the Child". Cengage, 2017. 

Comments

  1. Voncyle WilsonDecember 17, 2023 at 10:51 AM

    Additional activities that can be done are print out an allow the students to label the dragon or arts and crafts painting of a dragon.

    ReplyDelete

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