Customer Reviews

The Earth Dragon Awakes: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent young adult book. It is one of our Georgia Book Award Nominees for 2007-2008. It is a great way for kids to learn about what the earthquake was like from a young person's view point. The language of the book was very descriptive. You felt like you were there.

Chin and his father, Ah Sing, live in Chinatown with thousands of other Chinese immigrants. Ah Sing is a houseboy for Mr. Travis, a well-to-do banker who lives in a very nice San Francisco neighborhood with his wife and son, Henry. Henry and Chin are good friends; Henry shares his comic books with Chin, who is using them to learn how to read. Henry's parents and Ah Sing don't approve of the comic books their boys find so interesting.

Henry's dog, Sawyer, is very upset. He's whimpering and afraid, sensing that something is terribly wrong. Even the chickens in Ah Quon's butcher shop are skittish and frightened. What could be scaring the animals?

Over one-third of a million people are sleeping or just waking up around 5 A.M. on April 18, 1906 in the San Francisco area when the earthquake begins. Author Laurence Yep describes what it's like: "It is as if more than 18 million sticks of dynamite explode beneath them. That is more force than the atom bomb that struck Hiroshima."

At the Travis house Sawyer begins to howl. Henry hears a low rumble, then his books bounce off their shelves. Plaster drops off the walls and windows shatter. The house across the street falls apart.

Over in Chinatown the floor in Ah Sing's little apartment actually rolls under his feet. Boxes fall. Possessions are scattered everywhere. Windows shatter, and walls crack and crumble. Then the ceiling falls.

Imagine the chaos and destruction as houses tumble like flimsy paper cards. Water mains break. Thousands of people are trapped under falling rubble --- bricks, wood and plaster. Cable-car tracks are twisted and contorted. Fires are breaking out and spreading rapidly because there aren't enough firemen to fight that many fires. Those who are able to are helping rescue people, pets and a few belongings. Everyone is desperately trying to find a safe place.

This disaster is bringing out the best in most people, but also the worst as some folks are charging outrageous prices for the few supplies and what little transportation is available.

Henry and Chin's families experience many hazards and great uncertainty, but they do survive the earthquake and the fires. Both Henry and Chin are very proud of their fathers for the way they overcame the hardships and kept their families safe during the disaster.

--- Reviewed by Carole Turner

Look out for the earthquake! The Earth Dragon Awakes is one of the best books ever. It is mostly about two kids named Chin, and Henry trying to survive an earthquake. This is a serious book about a real-life event, the San Francisco earthquake. First the brothers are just living a normal life then all a sudden a earthquake comes. Luckily they survived the earthquake .Then after the earthquake, wait I can't tell that, but what ever you do don't take your eyes off that book. It is so good. Break your arm if you have to get it.

THE EARTH DRAGON AWAKES features parallel narration from two young boys...one American, one Chinese-American. Two different neighborhoods, but one terrifying crisis overwhelms them all.

Ah Sing is the houseboy to the Travis family, his son, Chin, is friends with Henry Travis. They both share a common passion: secretly reading 'penny dreadfuls' adventure stories full of heroes and action-packed adventures. But little do they know that the true heroes are much closer to home.

When the earthquake strikes, the young boys see their fathers revealed as true heroes. Fighting for survival, the city brings out the best and worst of everyone. Some see an opportunity to make profit, and others devote their time to helping strangers.

It is an exciting read for young readers.

"The Earth Dragon Awakes" by Laurence Yep is a well written novel that has specific details and a good storyline. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I would never give a book 5 stars because I always feel therecan be something revised to make the book better in many ways. I give it 4 stars because it's a good clean book which states facts and adds "lif" along with it. This Historical Fiction is about Chin and Henry friends who both love reading about the heroes in the comic books or "Penny Dreadfuls" as their parents call them. One day a crisis in San Francisco happens and Chin and Henry are looking for a hero to save the day. Laurence Yep an American author of Chinese decent has always felt disconnected from his Chinese culture which shows in Chin's character of how disconnected he feels from his Chinese Herritage. If you have read "Dragon Wings" this would be a recommended book. People that like historical fiction, history junkies, and kids of all ages. This is a great book that I think everyone should have a chance to read.

My 9yo daughter read this book in 2 days. She absolutely loved it. I had her read about 1906 accounts of the earthquake prior to reading this book. As she was reading I told her to think about the Haiti earhtquake victims and to try and make a connection between the 2 earthquakes.

I read this with a group of 5th and 6th graders. We were all very disappointed with the plot and character development. Very slow moving and uninspired.