Dragonwings

For today’s post I’ll talk about a book that I’m reading in school. Its called, “DragonWings”. I’m not reading it because its fun, but because its a school book and we have tests on it. Still its pretty fun. Thats why I’m going to  walk you through the first few pages of the book and give you a visualization of what its about. Before I start walking you through the story I want to say that the cover of this book is showing two people looking at the sky. A young boy and his father, so its not a giant dragon just covering the whole picture. Anyway lets get started.

                                                  At the very beginning it talks about a boy who has always wanted to know about the “Land of the Golden Mountain”. However his mother never wanted to talk about it. All he knows is that before he was born his father left the “Middle Kingdom” or “China” as the white demons call it, to go the “Land of the Golden Mountain”. The “Land of the Golden Mountain” is a place where men can work for money. Lots of money wee to be made in the demon land, but it was very dangerous.

                                                                                              His mother never wanted to talk about it and whenever she could, found something wrong with the farm that needed fixing. Only when the boy asks about the “Land of the Golden Mountain”. The family had lots of debts to pay off and if they wanted father to come back they had to get money for his ticket back home. His mother always said that they were the people of the “Tang” and they were a tough and patience race. In case you don’t know the white demons were actually “Americans”. The “Tang” people call them white demons.

The boy honestly didn’t know about his father just as much as the “Land of the Golden Mountain”, but his mother let him know one important fact about his father. He was a maker of the best kites. Before the empress of the “Middle Kingdom” would want his father to make her a kite and people who had the chance to buy his kite kept them as heirlooms because they were so well made. When the boy (Moon Shadow) was old enough he and his mother flew one of his father’s kites that were still in the house.

                                                                                               When Moon Shadow was older he was able to fly the kite by himself and admire it from every angle. There are two reasons why the two of them couldn’t visit father. One was because in the “Land of the Golden Mountain” wives weren’t allowed to visit. The other reason was because in the “Middle Kingdom” clans discouraged wives from leaving because it would mean no more money that the husbands sent from the “Land of the Golden Mountain” that couldn’t reused in the “Middle Kingdom”.

                                                                        The next day a man named “Hand Clap” visited Moon Shadow and his mother. They talked about the “Land of the Golden Mountain” and how Moon Shadow’s father was there. Hand Clap told the two of them that he was going back because his two daughters were so ugly they needed big dowries. However Moon Shadow and his mother knew that wasn’t why he was going. Anyway Moon Shadow’s mother asked Hand Clap to take a gift to father when he got their. Hand Clap said he actually came for a much bigger gift.

                                                                                            “Moon Shadow”. Moon Shadow’s mother was protesting that he was too young to go and that the Americans may beat him. Then Hand Clap said that Moon Shadow’s father wants him to come with him to visit him. He also said that in the “Land of the Golden Mountain”  Hand Clap had a whole group of friend that would protect Moon Shadow, and with that Moon Shadow went with Hand Clap to visit his father.