The Earth Dragon Awakes: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906
By Kelly Hartman
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Yep, Laurence. The Earth Dragon Awakes: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. New York: Harper Collins Publishing, 2008 ISBN 9780060275242
PLOT SUMMARY
Henry Travis and Chin are unlikely best friends; Chin's father is the Travis family's houseboy. During the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the boys are separated; yet they continue to worry about each other's well-being. Through a third person perspective, the boys face many dangers beyond the destruction of the quake. Digging out of the rubble, fearing for their safety during the aftershocks, experiencing their community members at their worst...and at their best, and then fleeing for their lives in the midst of the city burning to the ground are just some of the perils that the boys face. Will they be reunited despite the horrific odds?
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Laurence Yep, a Laura Ingalls Wilder Award winner, writes The Earth Dragon Awakes: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 as a historically accurate account, yet with a sensationally literary style. Organizing each chapter as a news event(time of day, date, and place), Yep gives the reader a sense of the horrific events that occurred over 100 years ago. His preface promises that even though his characters are fictional, the events are based on his research. The author is thorough in gaining his reader's confidence throughout the story. Interictally woven throughout the story, Yep gives scientific details such as descriptions of the earth's core versus its surface and definitions of tools such as a Richter scale. In addition, the author gives the reader footnotes(pg. 42, 102) providing cultural and historical notes needed to understand the events of the story.
Even though the story is written from a third person perspective, the reader finds himself immersed in the lives of two believable characters, Henry and Chin. Young readers will relate to the friendship that the two boys share, yet will pick up on the differences in what the boys are interested in(penny dreadfuls, Wyatt Earp) due to the time and place of their story. The plot and setting are firmly based in many details that revolve around San Francisco in 1906. Yep takes care in naming landmarks(Chinatown, Portsmouth Square) throughout the city, yet does not overwhelm the reader with too many facts.
The author has no need to over sensualize the story. According to the Afterword, his events are based on actual research about the earthquake. From the bull gouging to the fires set on that day, the reader is reassured that this story, although made-up, could have really happened. Yep is successful in communicating themes that transcend time: Friendship, Family, and Everyday Heroes.
AWARD AND REVIEW EXCERPTS
Written by 2005 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award Winner, Laurence Yep
"Told in the present tense, the narration provides a "you are there" sense of immediacy and will appeal to readers who enjoy action-packed survival stories." Linda Perkins―Booklist
"The afterword includes Yep's personal connection to the subject, sources for further reading, and photographs. Young readers will find the story engaging and the disaster fascinating, and they will breathe a sigh of relief when the two friends are reunited." Library Media Review
"Its "natural disaster" subject is both timely and topical, and Yep weaves snippets of information on plate tectonics and more very neatly around his prose. A solid supplemental choice." School Library Journal
CONNECTIONS
Create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting events, places, people from article vs the historical fiction book.
Students, librarian, and teacher write, read, and act several chapters of the book.
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