When the Earth Dragon Trembled
This is the story of a young boy in Chinatown during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. Han is twelve years old and starting to rebel against the old-fashioned, old-country ways of his father. Han has been reading Tom Sawyer, but his father tells him to read instead a book of old Chinese proverbs. The proverbs do not help when some white boys torment him by pulling on his long queue of hair.
Han cuts off his queue, causing his father’s anger, and he is told his disobedience will make the Earth Dragon tremble with rage. Only a few hours later, this prophesy appears to come true as the earth trembles with the huge 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Han is forced to leave his badly injured father and find his own way to safety during the aftershocks, explosions, and tremendous fire.
With help, often from people who have as little as he does, Han finds his way to the safety of the Bay, and finally back to ruins of the family store.
This short novel forms part of the I Am America series featuring stories based on historical events experienced by people whose voices have been underrepresented, lost, or forgotten. The author’s goal is to write books that transport young readers back in time. She has succeeded in this novel, showing a vulnerable boy forced to struggle through a devastated city relying on his own initiative and the wisdom of an old-fashioned book of old Chinese proverbs.
Thoroughly researched, this novel is illustrated by drawings and old photographs, with historical notes to clarify detail. The author presents the tale with clarity and empathy. Readers of any age will be drawn into Han’s struggle to survive.
