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  • The Year of the Dog (A Pacy Lin Novel Book 1)
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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
479 global ratings
5 star
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4 star
10%
3 star
2%
2 star
2%
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The Year of the Dog (A Pacy Lin Novel Book 1)

The Year of the Dog (A Pacy Lin Novel Book 1)

byGrace Lin
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Top positive review

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T. Kay
5.0 out of 5 starsFourth graders enjoy these books in guided reading groups.
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2017
Grace Lin does an incredible job of enchanting readers with stories that also teach about Chinese legend and customs.

At least in the books I’ve read (this series and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon), Lin tells the main story with short stories/legends interspersed. They are very short, so the reader doesn’t lose track of the main plot.

I’ve read both serieses aloud with fourth graders, and they’ve loved them. I love to start a series in small group rotations and then offer the rest of the series for the kids to read. I’ve had kids finish the rest of the series on their own.
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8 people found this helpful

Top critical review

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Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 starsthis book smells like febreze
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2021
I disliked the way my book smells. Spraying febreze on books is not necessary!
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One person found this helpful

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From the United States

Carol Sue
4.0 out of 5 stars another good read by Grace Lin
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2017
Verified Purchase
My daughter (9) and I very much enjoyed reading this novel together.
3 people found this helpful
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momindc
4.0 out of 5 stars It is fun Reading This book
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2020
Verified Purchase
I Liked that it was about the dogs because I love dogs.
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SMSUllman
4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2014
Verified Purchase
I think that Pacy and her family are quite interesting.I love how Pacy and melody really connect,It really shows friendship.

I think the book is pretty good
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Alison Edwards
4.0 out of 5 stars great
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2013
Verified Purchase
This was another downloadable book. It arrived almost immediately after I hit submit! I just think it is a little pricey for a downloadable book.
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RachelTop Contributor: Baby
4.0 out of 5 stars Has the potential to be a 5 star book.
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2019
For most families who don't mind their children of preadolescence age(s) discussing or reading about girls chasing after boys or vice versa, this could be a 5 star book. In our home, we have found that our 10 year old is not interested in this as of yet. Due to that I am hesitant to read this book to him.

There is an entire chapter dedicated to who the main character and her best friend has a crush on, an experiment on how often that boy talks to other girls, if he likes them back, etc. I picked up this book because it was recommended as a "living book" that would potentially teach my son about the Chinese culture, so I personally found that information from the author to be unnecessary.

This book also has a chapter where the author meets her soon-to-be best friend and she mocks eating healthy. Healthy food is described as boring, bland food. We ourselves try to eat healthy, organic, homemade meals as much as we can, so I found this in bad "taste". :) We parents would all love to feed our children a diet of soda, Cheetos and donuts. If that was good for them and didn't lead to bad eating habits down the road, bad health or a host of other problems, that would be great. Since that's not the case, some of us parents make the harder decision to feed our children healthier options.

Outside of those issue, I highly enjoyed reading this book as an adult. It is a very humorous book that introduces a lot of culture and information about the Taiwanese (which is different than Chinese as I learned from this book) culture in a fun and interesting manner. As I said, I initially read this book to review it before adding it to our upcoming year on culture studies about Asia and some of it's countries such as China. I have four other books to read before deciding on which one to use. Those books are Where the Mountain meets the Moon, Mission to Cathay, Li-Lun, Lad of Courage, and Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze. If I don't find any of those books satisfactory, I will come back to this one and choose it as the book we'll integrate into our cultural studies next year. I will omit the chapter and excerpts that talk about the girls swooning after the boys and use the rest of the information.

I do think our culture is highly sexualized and a lot of times our children fall victim to that. I don't think love, or crushes in and of themselves are wrong. I do think that our children are being exposed to more and more inappropriate material which is either the result of intentional propaganda, or careless work on the part of the writers, directors, media, etc. For instance, I don't see the need for the mention or discussion of same sex parents in shows targeted to 2 year olds in shows such as Pete the Cat, Doc McStuffins, etc. Or the need to mention or discuss trans-gendered adults in shows such as Bubble Guppies. I personally think it's silly, unnecessary, and furthermore exposes our children at a young age to things they don't care or need to care about.

In my opinion this leads to more and more exposure and these days before children even hit their teens they are engaging in behavior that is harmful to them and their peers. One of my friends had her 8 year old daughter sexually assaulted by a 10 year old peer (boy) at school. This really made me take a step back and assess my own 10 year old's interests, hobbies, education and really everything he is exposed to. I am led to the decision that the less exposure to adult topics of any kind while young, the better. When he starts showing interest in girls on his own, I won't stand in the way of that. But to introduce it early is unnecessary and robs our children of innocence I think. All that is just a small window into why I didn't like the length and depth of those issues being discussed in this book.

In the end, I think it's good for our children to be culturally aware of how children live around the world. This books helps by providing insight into what Taiwanese children eat, how they interact with their peers differently than say, an American child would, what their traditional way of dress is, and how their familial interactions are as well. I found all that to be valuable information that was presented in a great way. The main character does live in America but that doesn't take away from the authenticity of her experiences or her recounts about her culture. In fact it gives us an inside look on how she and children of other cultures face integration into American society.
5 people found this helpful
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'chelle
4.0 out of 5 stars Charming Middle-Grade Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2020
In this middle-grade, realistic-fiction novel, we meet Pacy Lin, the Taiwanese-American child of two immigrant parents. When her family celebrates the Lunar New Year, she learns that the Year of the Dog is a year of self-discovery and becomes determined to find herself.

This charming story is relatable to any child struggling to find out what their talent is and facing the every day challenges of a child's life. Additionally, it gently explores the real-life racism that even elementary school children face. It will also make you very hungry with all the delightful descriptions of food.

It's an excellent choice for a book report both by virtue of the story itself and the list of discussion questions at the back. It's suitable for ages 8 to 10.
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Christine Louise Hohlbaum
4.0 out of 5 stars Great for any girl seeking her cultural identity
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2006
Grace Lin's debut novel, "The Year of the Dog", centers around a little girl named, well, Grace Lin. The author admits this book is based on her childhood as a budding artist and Taiwanese American growing up in Upstate New York.

"...this is the book I wished I had growing up," Lin relates on the back cover flap.

The clever storyline interweaves old traditions with new ones. The book is structured with stories inside of stories. Interludes such as "How My Name Changed from Pacy to Grace" and "Mom's First Day of School" meld backstory with the plot of a remarkable little girl with a big heart.

What makes this book highly relatable to young girls is the protagonist's real-life quest to find herself. Using the Chinese Year of the Dog as the framework for the story, Lin builds the book around an entire year filled with celebrations, school projects and relationships.

I would have liked to see more external dialogue about how others viewed the little girl, Grace. The author made it sound as if only the protagonist herself was conflicted. I was left wondering if her non-Asian classmates, teachers and community were always as accepting of her as she portrayed them to be. She dismissed this topic by creating her best friend, Melody Ling, the only other Asian-American girl in school.

As a non-Asian American, I found the illustrations enlightening. For instance, Lin depicts her grandmother with her tiny feet which, according to Chinese tradition, had been bound as a child. She shows the picture of a pioneer doll which no doubt had blonde hair and blue eyes. The classic misunderstanding of what both mother and daughter mean by a china doll underscores the painful realization of being caught between several cultural worlds.

This book is instructive and empowering for young girls. I recommend it as a resource for anyone struggling to find herself in today's motley world.

Christine Louise Hohlbaum, American author of "Diary of a Mother" and "SAHM I Am: Tales of a Stay-at-Home Mom in Europe", lives near Munich, Germany, with her husband and two children. Subscribe to her parenting newsletter at [...]
8 people found this helpful
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TeacherReader
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Well-Written
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2013
This novel is a great read for those in grades 3-5. I really like the way it handled the experience of being the only child of a particular culture (in this case, Taiwanese) in a school group. Grace/Pacy is really struggling to understand how she can be both American AND Taiwanese.

This book had been on my shelf for a long time, but I avoided it because I thought it might be too preachy. Man - I was really missing out! Grace Lin deftly balances the questions of identity with typical experiences such as friendship, boys, and school projects. She also does a fabulous job of keeping Chinese-American culture diverse, rather than giving in to the temptation of making it a monolith. But my favorite thing was the humor. I laughed out loud. The voice of the story is a middle grades girl, and boy did Grace Lin nail that young voice. Also, my 5th grade students really enjoy this novel. Nicely done!
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Heather Talty
4.0 out of 5 stars a sweet and deceptively simple story
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2010
In the afterword to Year of the Dog, Grace Lin states explicitly why she wrote the book: "I wrote it because I wished I had had when I was growing up, a book that had someone like me in it." Year of the Dog is a story about a normal elementary school girl who makes a new friend, tries to find a talent, and celebrates holidays and milestones with her family. However, it is also a book about what it is like to grow up straddled between two cultures. As an Asian American, main character Pacy (called Grace at school) celebrates Chinese New Year, attends a Red Egg party for her new baby cousin and listens to stories about her mother's life in China. However, she doesn't know whether to refer to herself as Chinese or Taiwanese, can't speak either language, and is called a "Twinkie" (yellow on the outside, white on the inside) by another Asian girl.

On both counts, Year of the Dog succeeds. It works as a story about a normal girl doing normal things. It will make Asian American children feel more comfortable that there are books about children like them. It will inform children of other cultures about what it is like to eat (real) Chinese food and celebrate Chinese holidays and that not every member of a particular group is the same. In addition, Grace's drawings are scattered throughout the book, adding a deeper level of understanding to her character and the light tone of the book.
3 people found this helpful
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Jane Ip
4.0 out of 5 stars Charming read
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2008
This is exactly the type of book I would have liked to read when I was 8 years old because it describes one girl's account of growing up Asian in American culture. I particularly enjoyed her relatives' stories from their own childhood. I think this book will resonate with anyone who grows up feeling like they are part of two different cultures.
2 people found this helpful
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