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

My son is in third grade and his teacher read it aloud to the class. On his recommendation, I read it myself and found I couldn't stop reading. It's full of small stories that feel funny and true. Explores authenticity, belonging, community, and feeling different from others when you're not sure who you are to begin with. The writing is excellent and the characters are memorable and tell stories that are full of heart.

Great story.. very relatable and my students loved to learn about the Asian culture!

This book is wonderful. I teach at an international school in Asia and read this aloud to my 3rd grade class. They loved it. We were even lucky enough to meet Ms. Lin for a virtual author visit. It was one of the best author visits I've seen. Afterwards, many of my students were searching the library for other titles by Ms. Lin. :0)

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.

My daughter is almost 9. She enjoyed this book. Pacy, the main character, is on a quest to find herself: Is she Chinese-American? Taiwanese-American? Or just American? To her American friends at school her Chinese culture is distinctly different, so much so, that one little girl insensitively tells her she can't play Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz because Dorothy is not Chinese.To Chinese girls, she is not authentically Chinese because she doesn't speak the language; they leave her out, telling her she is "Americanized" or as one girl rudely calls her: "A Twinkie, yellow on the outside, white on the inside."But the book is more than just the dilemma I mention here. It's a great read, and the book ends on a high note.

My 8 year old loved it. Really enjoyed the questions at the end and extra stories. Excited to read more by this talented author.

My fifth graders and I read this book together. They loved learning about Pacy and her life and loved it even more when they realized it's a true story of the author's life. They hope to read the sequel soon!

We read this aloud to my 4 year old and she LOVED it. I expect she’ll read it again when she can read herself and understand more of the nuance then. But I was amazed how happily she gobbled up the story even now.

I got this book for a translation project in college. Being Taiwanese American myself, I had sort of wanted a book like this as a child. However, some of the events and things mentioned in the book weren't exactly very Taiwanese. And most were just very outdated and weird. It was a good simple read for children I suppose. Wish some of the events were a bit more interesting though.

Good book, poor quality!

Both by daughters (aged 7 and 9) loved this!

Wir fingen mit "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" an. Danach entdeckten wir "The Year of the Dog" und "The Year of the Rat" von Grace Lin. In unseren Dorf gibt es viele Kinder der asiatischen Herkunft. Die Pacy Lin Romane haben neue Weltanschauungen in unseren Töchtern geschafft und dazu ein neuen Respekt ihre Zweisprachigkeit entwickelt. Schöne Bücher vorm Schlafengehen zusammen zu lesen.

My daughter was so excited. She loves Grace Lin and is using this for her book report at school