The Year of the Dog Read online

  I felt like a fish trapped under frozen water as she reached into her pocket and took out a pair of scissors. She seized a handful of my hair and I felt the cold metal points on my neck… Snip! Snip! I saw my hair flutter down to the ground like a dying moth. “Go,” the teacher said.

  Like a rabbit hearing a gun fired, I jumped away. While I hurried away from her, I touched my hair and I almost stopped still from shock. She had only cut one side! One side was cut very short, above my ear, while the other side was below my ear. It was lopsided! I looked so ridiculous. For the whole day, I had to have that bad hair cut.

  Mom finished, “As soon as school was over, I ran all the way home so Grandma could cut it all one length.”

  “That’s not the kind of different I mean,” Lissy said.

  “I know,” Mom said.

  When Lissy’s hair was done, I thought it looked the same as always. But Mom got a curling iron and curled her bangs and brushed them out. Lissy’s hair was all fluffy, like a poodle’s. But when Lissy looked in the mirror she was happy.

  Chapter 29

  Good-bye, Year of the Dog

  THAT YEAR, MELODY’S FAMILY WAS COMING OVER to celebrate Chinese New Year with us. Since it was on a Friday, we were all going to stay up late to welcome the New Year.

  So Mom chopped and baked and steamed twice as much as she did last year. We all had to help her in the kitchen or she would never have gotten everything done in time.

  That year, I made dumplings. They weren’t too hard to make. Mom did all the hard parts. She rolled the dumpling skins and made the filling. I cut the circles out of the dough using a cookie cutter. Then I spooned in the filling and folded the skin. My dumplings looked like little half moons.

  When we finished making the dumplings, Mom boiled and fried them. Then, I peeled the shrimp while Mom fried the fish and Lissy chopped some garlic. Dad added the extra part to the table to make it longer, and Ki-Ki filled the New Year tray all by herself. This time we had more things to fill it with. Ki-Ki put in Chinese New Year melon candy, honey noodle cakes, and red melon seeds, as well as M&M’s.

  I set the table, Ki-Ki took out the polished serving spoons, and Lissy scooped rice out into a big bowl like she was shoveling snow. Dad got out his special wine and the delicate wine glasses that were like soap bubbles with stems. All the while, with sizzling oil and vegetable slices popping in front of her like firecrackers, Mom kept frying and chopping.

  Then it was Chinese New Year! The phone started ringing and then the doorbell rang. Melody’s family came in. “Gong xi-gong xi! Xin Nian hao!” they said. “Happy Chinese New Year!”

  Melody’s parents handed Dad a big plant. Melody and Felix handed me a big wooden crate overflowing with oranges. There were a lot of oranges. They kept jumping out of the crate, like rabbits trying to escape.

  “Why’d you get us so many oranges?” I asked. “We’re never going to be able to eat them all.”

  “It’s to bring you good luck, don’t you know?” Melody told me.

  “Not luck,” Felix corrected her. “Money. The Chinese word for oranges sounds like the word for wealth.”

  “I’m glad I’m already rich, so I don’t have to worry about it,” I said.

  “Then give the oranges back,” Melody told me. “Then I’ll get rich, too.”

  “Hey, me, too!” Felix said. Ki-Ki and Benji joined in as well.

  We peeled the oranges and shared them. I guess it was a good thing they had brought so many. That way, everyone could get rich.

  “Time to eat!” Mom called.

  Everyone hustled into the dining room and then stared in awe. Mom had made so much food, even more than last year. This year we had clams that looked like ocean stones, a roasted duck with its head still on, fried rice with pink shrimp, steamed buns that looked like enormous marshmallows, pan-fried fish, jade green cabbage, golden brown dumplings, red marinated pork, and brownish black seaweed.

  “Yum!” Felix said. “Let’s eat!”

  “The Year of the Dog is over,” Dad said as he poured the drinks. All the adults got special Chinese wine while the kids got juice. When Mom wasn’t looking, Lissy tasted the wine. She made a face when she drank it.

  “Now it’s the Year of the Pig,” Mom said.

  “My year,” Lissy added.

  “You’re a pig! You’re a pig!” Melody and I laughed. “Oink! Oink!”

  Lissy stuck her tongue out at us, but for once she couldn’t think of anything to say back.

  “The Year of the Dog was a good year,” Dad continued, “don’t you think?”

  I thought about it. The Year of the Dog was the year that I met Melody and she became my best friend. It was the year I had won a prize, discovered my talent, and got rich. It was the year I had found myself and decided I was going to make books when I grew up. The Year of the Dog had been a great year.

  “Let’s give a toast to the Year of the Dog!” Dad said.

  We all raised our glasses and clinked them together.

  “Good-bye, Year of the Dog!” I said. “Good-bye!”

  Author’s Note

  My favorite chapter books when I was younger were by Carolyn Haywood—“B” Is for Betsy and Eddie and His Big Deals. The stories took place in school, in Betsy’s home, and in Eddie’s neighborhood. They had families and ate dinner and waited for the bus. They were normal families without unicorns or fairy princesses, but the stories were magical to me. When I read those books, it was as if I was wrapped in a warm hug. I saw all the things that I loved and lived—my neighborhood, my friends, and my school. The only thing I didn’t see was me.

  Growing up Asian in a mainly Caucasian community was not a miserable and gloomy existence. But it was different. I wrote The Year of the Dog, because I felt that it was important to have a book that addressed those differences in a real and upbeat way. I wrote it because it was the book I wished I had had when I was growing up, a book that had someone like me in it.

  Now, readers will ask, “So, is this book true?” Well, it’s mostly true. It is based on my family, my childhood home and school. Some things did get switched around and mixed up (I actually won the science fair!), but almost everything had a real-life inspiration. That’s why there are many identity conflicts in the story. My parents were from Taiwan, which was then called The Republic of China (because the United States didn’t recognize communist China). Because of that, some adults would label my nationality Chinese, but many of the native Taiwanese people considered themselves as Taiwanese, not Chinese. To a young child, it seemed like a strange kind of grown-up conspiracy. It was always a source of confusion for me. What was I? We celebrated Chinese New Year (which is now more commonly called Lunar New Year since it is based on the lunar calendar and in order to include other countries such as Vietnam and Taiwan that celebrate it), my parents spoke Taiwanese to our relatives on the phone, and we had chocolate M&M’s on the table. It was this constant whirling of East and West that spun the threads of my identity. At the time, I felt these different threads twisted my life into knots. Now I know that the fabric of my life is richer for them.

  I hope you enjoyed my book. If you want to know which parts are “absolutely” real, visit my Web site, gracelin.com, to see behind-the-story photos and plots. You might be surprised!

  Best Wishes,

  Grace Lin

  Reader’s Guide

  1. When does Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) occur? Is it the same day every year? How is Chinese New Year different from New Year’s Day (January 1)?

  2. What are some of Grace’s family traditions? Why are these traditions important to Grace and her parents? Does your family have any special traditions?

  3. Grace and Melody quickly become best friends. Do you think this is because they are both Taiwanese-American? How do their similar backgrounds help them become such good friends?

  4. Grace and Melody thought that their science fair project proved that plants prefer soda over water, milk, and orange juice, bu
t Mr. McKnealy pointed out that their experiment was flawed because the plants were not kept in a controlled environment. Have you ever thought you made an important discovery, only to be proved wrong? Did Grace and Melody learn anything from their experiment, even though it was flawed?

  5. Grace’s mom tells her that the Year of the Dog is the year that people are supposed to find themselves. Grace spends the whole year trying to discover her talent. It is not until she wins a prize for her book that she realizes she wants to be an author/illustrator when she grows up. Do you think she would have still discovered that if she had not won a prize?

  6. Grace is excited to try out for the part of Dorothy in the school play, until one of her classmates tells her that there can’t be a Chinese Dorothy. Grace is very discouraged and doesn’t try out at all. Do you agree that Grace shouldn’t be Dorothy just because she is Asian? How would this make you feel if you were Grace?

  7. Grace’s mom tells her many stories from her childhood. How was her childhood different from Grace’s? Ask your parents about their childhoods. How are they different from yours?

  8. Grace is quite interested in the symbolism of the Year of the Dog. Because dogs are loyal, true, and friendly, the Year of the Dog is a good year for friends, family, and being “true to yourself.” Find out what year you were born according to the lunar calendar. What are the characteristics of that year? Do these words describe you well?

  9. Grace is made fun of because she can’t speak Chinese or Taiwanese. Why do you think the girls made fun of her? Do you think this was right? How would you feel if you were Grace?

  About the Author

  Grace Lin is the author and illustrator of the Newbery Honor book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, and the beloved companion books to The Year of the Dog: The Year of the Rat and Dumpling Days. She is also the author and illustrator of the Geisel Honor book Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same!, as well as picture books such as The Ugly Vegetables and Dim Sum for Everyone!

  The Year of the Dog was Grace’s first novel, and she says, “I wrote it because this was the book I wished I had growing up.” Grace grew up in upstate New York and now lives in Somerville, Massachusetts. Her website is gracelin.com.

  For more great reads and free samplers, visit

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  Chapter 1

  The Year of the Rat

  “HAPPY YEAR OF THE RAT!” DAD SAID AS HE toasted us with his glass. The clinking noises filled the air as the adults knocked glasses of wine against the kids’ cups of juice.

  It was the eve of Chinese New Year, and my best friend, Melody, and her family had come for the celebration dinner just as they had for the last two years. Before Melody moved to upstate New York, I always celebrated Chinese New Year with just my family—me, Ki-Ki, Lissy, Mom, and Dad—because we were the only Asian people in the area. But since Melody and her family were also Taiwanese, they came to celebrate the New Year with us.

  As usual, the table was covered with food. Mom had to make enough food for ten people (Melody also had five people in her family—two brothers and her parents) and leftovers. There always has to be food left over after a Chinese New Year dinner because that means you’ll have more than enough for the year. So the platters of pork, yellow noodles, roasted duck, soft cotton-white steamed buns, fried dumplings, delicate silver fish, and vegetables so shiny they looked polished, crowded the table. There was barely enough room for our plates.

  “Ugh, Year of the Rat,” Lissy said at the dinner table. “I liked last year better, when it was the Year of the Pig. I was lucky then.”

  I rolled my eyes at Melody. She just gave me a small smile. I could tell that since her parents were here and they were guests for dinner, she had to be polite. She couldn’t make any rude faces like she normally would with me.

  But since it was my house, I didn’t have to be polite.

  “Oink! Oink!” I snorted. “Lissy’s a PIG!”

  “Pacy,” Mom said in a way that meant “behave.”

  “You’re not supposed to say anything rude or bad on the New Year,” Melody’s mom said. “Or you’ll bring bad things into the year.”

  Well, that bothered me. I didn’t want a whole year of bad luck just because I said a couple of silly things. I quickly quieted down.

  “In America,” Dad said, ignoring me, “rats are looked down on. But Chinese people actually admire rats.”

  “Why?” Benji, Melody’s younger brother, asked.

  “They think the rat is very smart and charming,” Daddy said. “And he’s first.”

  “What do you mean, first?” Ki-Ki asked.

  “You know the story of why all the Chinese years are named after animals, right?” Mom said.

  Lissy and Felix nodded, but Ki-Ki shook her head. “I remember a little,” I said. “But I forget.”

  “Okay, I’ll tell you again,” Dad said.

  THE STORY OF THE TWELVE ANIMALS OF CHINESE NEW YEAR OR HOW THE RAT WAS FIRST

  A long time ago, so long that you couldn’t even imagine it, the Jade Emperor had a birthday. Since he was the Jade Emperor, the king of all the heavens, he invited the animals on the earth to come to his celebration. And, he said, to add to the festivities, it would be a race. The first twelve to arrive would win the prize of a year named after them.

  So, of course all the animals wanted this honor. But separating the earth and the Jade Emperor’s palace was a large and forceful river, with violent waves that rose and crashed over and over again like the pounding of a thunderous drum. All the animals worried about getting across.

  Many animals decided to train and prepare themselves for the event, like athletes before a marathon. One such animal was the cat. Every day he worked—strengthening his muscles, holding his breath, and trying to get used to water.The night before the race, the cat put himself through vigorous exercises one last time. Exhausted, he went to bed, asking his friend the rat to wake him up in the morning in time to start the race.

  The rat agreed, but his mind was elsewhere. The rat knew he was a poor swimmer, too weak and too small to manage the river’s waves. But he wanted to be an honored animal. He refused to give up. So, all night he sat and thought and plotted.

  In the morning, the rat followed the strong water ox like a shadow. As soon as the race started, the rat made a flying leap onto the ox’s back. The rat was so small and light that the muscular ox didn’t even notice he was there. And, since the water ox was the best swimmer he was easily leading the race. The powerful ox had no fear of the rough water he wallowed in everyday. Even with the fierce waves fighting him, he moved forward undaunted.

  But, as soon as the Jade Emperor’s kingdom was within range, the rat gave another flying leap and was the first ashore. He was the winner! So, the rat was rewarded by having the first year named after him.

  The ox was second. And then the tiger, then the rabbit (who had made it across by jumping from one river stone to the next), the flying dragon (who wasn’t first because he stopped to make it rain for some people), the snake (who had wrapped himself around the horse’s ankle and scared the horse when he slithered off, causing the horse to jump back), the horse, then the sheep, monkey and rooster (who had built a raft together), the dog, and then lastly the pig (who was late because he got hungry on the way and stopped to eat). And so, the twelve years were named.

  And what about the cat? The rat forgot to wake him up in the morning, so he slept through the entire contest. That is why there is no Year of the Cat. That is also why whenever a cat sees a rat it hisses and attacks. The cat has never forgiven the rat for not waking him up and making him miss the race.

  “So, the rat was the first of the twelve animals to finish the race,” Dad finished. “That’s why his year is first.”

  “So that means Lissy has to wait twelve whole years before it’s her year again!” I said. I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t resist annoying her. “Ha-ha!”

  “Yes,” Mom said as she nodded. “And, you know,
since the Year of the Rat is the first year of the next twelve-year cycle, it symbolizes new beginnings.”

  “And that means changes,” Melody’s mom said, and she gave her family a funny look I didn’t understand. “The Year of the Rat is the time to make a fresh start and to change things.”

  Melody and I looked at each other. She had a weird look on her face. I felt confused. Changes? I liked the way things were right now. What was going to happen in the Year of the Rat?

  Chapter 2

  New Year Resolutions

  THIS YEAR, CHINESE NEW YEAR WAS ON A Saturday, so we could stay up late. After dinner, we all gathered in the family room. As Dad made a warm fire in our fireplace, Ki-Ki almost closed her eyes from sleepiness.

  “Uh-oh,” Lissy said. “Wake up, Ki-Ki! You have to welcome in the New Year!”

  “Yes,” Melody’s dad said. “We have to keep you up all night. The longer you stay awake, the longer lives we will have.”

  “Then you better do something to keep us awake,” Melody said. “Do something so we’re not bored.”

  “Oh, you want us to entertain you, huh?” Dad laughed. “Okay, let’s see. I can sing. Do-re-mi…”

  “NO!” we all said together.

  “How about if you all write down your New Year’s resolutions?” Dad said. “You can think about what you want to accomplish in the New Year.”

  “You’re supposed to do that for the American New Year,” Lissy objected. “Not Chinese New Year.”

  “So?” Dad said. “We celebrate both. We can make up our own traditions.”

  Even though it seemed a little bit like school, it didn’t sound so bad. So, I got paper and pencils for everyone. When we sat down and started to write, I grinned at Melody. I knew that the one thing that both of us really wanted for the New Year was for Sam Mercer to like us. He was the cutest boy in our grade. But neither one of us was going to write that down!