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Title: The Year of the Rat
ISBN: 031611426X
Author:
Grace Lin
Publicate Date: 2008-01-01
Publish: 2008-01-01
List Price: $14.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $8.03
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $6.90
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.19
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Fun tale of change
Pacy and Melody are best friends. The year of the rat means changes. Some of these changes Pacy isn't ready for. Her friend might move clear across the country to California and Pacy struggles to find the courage to keep the dream of being an artist and author even when others in her family tell her it's a 'closed door'. Later a new boy from China arrives. Others make fun of him. They call him Dumb Wit and say he's weird. Pacy knows this is wrong but doesn't want to be associated with him. What should she do? Pacy encounters prejudice and struggles to find the courage to make her own change.
This is a great tale about being proud of your heritage and who you are. I'm a big fan of multicultural tales. Tales that makes children proud of who they are. Pacy's tale is one I know other children face. I loved the stories within that tell of what her own Taiwanese parents went through when first coming to our country. Also Pacy's story reminds me of similar tales of Central American students I had and how others made fun of their differences.
The story also goes over Chinese holidays, a wedding, and a few folk tales. This story would be a great addition to a classroom library.
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2: Another Great Read from Grace Lin
The Year of the Rat is as wonderful as its predecessor, The Year of the Dog. My eleven-year-old and I loved reading this aloud together, learning more about Pacy and her challenges during a year of changes as she loses her best friend, struggles with school friendships, and faces conflicting feelings towards a new classmate from China. As in the first book, we especially loved the stories of Pacy's mom as she uses her eye-opening experiences of life in Taiwan and immigration to America to gently teach her daughter some life lessons. Again we enjoyed the weaving in of Taiwanese food and culture. The adorable black&white line drawings top off this highly-recommended book.
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3: A delightful read for adults and children
This is a wonderful book to read with, or to, a child. A delightful style to the writing. Children, and adults, can learn Chinese customs and life lessons. The illustrations are a pleasant addition to the story.
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4: Book Review: Year of the Rat
I read the book that preceded "Year of the Rat", "Year of the Dog", toward the end of Aught 7 and was nothing but pleased. The book was not so much a story as a collection of events in the life of a grade school kid. At that age, school, family, and friends is about all there is. The characters were undeniably real. The semi-autobiographical protagonist made for some great examinations of Asian/American cultural differences that youngsters could understand. Well, Grace Lin continues the theme in "Year of the Rat" with similarly successful results. A book that doesn't wow as much as it satisfies. Or maybe I should put it this way: "Year of the Rat" just walks the walk, no talk necessary.
Pacy is a couple years older than last time and the Year of the Rat is about to begin. This particular year is destined to bring change, and it certainly comes through. Pacy's best friend Melody is moving, and our heroine is crushed. Her life plan, to be an author and illustrator, is also brought into question when Pacy learns that it is considered a "cold door" profession (see: bound to leave you broke as a joke). She begins to second guess herself. Pshhhhhhhheeeeeewwwwwww - Crash! That's the sound of change, my friends. These worries make for an unexpectedly stressful year. But there are some other changes in store for Pacy. The internal kind that allow her to see her year in a new light.
I've got to say, the book is a pleasure to read. Simple black and white illustrations scattered about to shed light on the text. Girls from a variety of cultural backgrounds will identify with the struggles of making friends and fitting in. An easy one to recommend.
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5: Entertaining and informative
Reviewed by Maya Landers (age 10) for Reader Views (2/08)
"The Year of the Rat," by Grace Lin, is an interesting, entertaining book about a Taiwanese girl, Pacy, who lives in New Hartford, Connecticut. The book does a fabulous job of describing her thoughts and feelings. This feeling is enhanced when, on the sides of the pages, there are drawings, pictures, and interesting notes--including how to make an American Revolution haversack!
I thought that the way that many of the characters were described was very realistic; it made me feel as though I knew them, and as if I could relate to them. Also, many times throughout the book, when an adult is explaining something, then they will tell an Asian folktale, including "The Story of the Twelve Animals of Chinese New Year," and "Knowing the Fish," (or, "The Two Philosophers"). Because of this, I felt like I could enjoy reading a fictional book about fictional characters while I was learning the culture of a foreign country.
This book is the sequel to "The Year of the Dog," also by Grace Lin. Although I have not read this book, I felt like I could understand everything that was going on. Lin did a very good job of making sure that the reader could understand everything, and not including too many things that would be hard to understand if you hadn't read the previous book.
Pacy and her best friend, Melody, are so close that they are like sisters. So when Melody announces that she is moving to California, the other side of the country, Pacy is heartbroken! Melody is moving because her dad needs to go there for his work, and so they are renting out their house. When a Chinese boy, Dun-Wei moves in, Pacy thinks of him as the enemy, because he lives in her best friend's former house. Because he is not very good at speaking English yet, the people at Pacy's school bully him and call him insulting names. Will Pacy stand up for him as she would for Melody, or will she survey him with cold indifference, believing it to be only what he deserves for moving into the house that used to be her friend's?
I would recommend "The Year of the Rat" to my friends because it did a very good job of describing the life of a girl who had to make some hard decisions and then live with those decisions afterward.
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