Dragonwings reviews? Appropriate for 8-9 YO?

[tammyw]

Trying to finish the work on my American history book list, and this is one that looks iffy to me. There are reviews on amazon that talk about mature content, plus quite a few negative reviews.

 

Thought I'd ask here for further reviews.

[Mom22ns]

I preferred Dragon Gate to Dragon Wings (same author).

 

Dragon Wings is the story of a Chinese family in San Francisco. The family business is a laundry. The father and son come to join some other family members in the business, but the father becomes obsessed with flying. There is a little bit of violence and maybe some mild language. I would think it was appropriate for an 8 or 9 yr old, but it really wasn't a favorite.

 

Dragon's Gate was also a Chinese father and son, but this time they are working on the transcontinental railroad. The father has made it sound much better than it is and when the son comes to America he learns how harsh the reality is. There is some significant violence in this book too, but there is more that is historically of value and I thought it was a better story. You'll want to try pre-reading to make sure the level of violence is ok with you for an 8-9 yr old.

[tammyw]

Thank you! I'm going to look into Dragon Gate as an alternative.

[Blossom'sGirl]

I picked up Dragonwings on tape several years ago from a used book sale. Not knowing much about it, we listened to it as a family during a long trip. I don't remember a lot about it, but I do recall some well described incidences with opium use and the users lifestyles. My oldest (now 13yo) has listened to it several times since, but it was over the heads of the others. Oldest is an airplane nut.