The iron dragon : the courageous story of Lee Chin

Title:

Author:

Pryor, Bonnie.

ISBN:

9781598452150

Personal Author:

Pryor, Bonnie.

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

160 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.

Series:

Historical fiction adventures (HFA)

Historical fiction adventures.

Abstract:

In the mid-nineteenth century, teenager Lee Chin and his father leave China for California to work on the transcontinental railroad, where Lee defies his father's wishes and saves money to free his younger sister from slavery in China, then brings her to join him in beginning a new life in America. Includes historical note about the Chinese who helped build the transcontinental railroad.

Subject Term:

Chinese -- United States -- Fiction.

Chinese Americans.

Emigration and immigration -- Fiction.

Railroads.

Geographic Term:

Sierra Leone -- History.

Format:

Books

Document ID:

SD_ILS:1548720

Availability:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Shelf Number	Material Type	Status
Searching... Durban North Library	J E PRYO	Juvenile English Fiction	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Musgrave Library	J E PRYO	Juvenile English Fiction	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Lee Chin arrives in America in 1866 to work on the transcontinental railroad. His cruel father is disappointed in him because he wants to be an artist. To make matters worse, Lee Chin's father has sold his sister, Sunshine, into slavery in order to help pay for their passage to America. In a new land, Lee Chin must defy his father and earn the money to free his sister. What does Lee Chin do to help his sister? Can he stand up to his father? Readers follow Lee Chin's courageous story during the construction of one of America's first modern wonders, the transcontinental railroad.

Author Notes

Bonnie Pryor was born in California and raised in Spokane, Washington. She has lived in Ohio with her husband Robert and six children for the last 30 years. She has written 32 books, both picture books and novels for elementary age children. Her books include mysteries, family stories and historical fiction. Many of the family stories are loosely based on true family incidents and she often use her own children as characters in her books.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (1)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-6-Twelve-year-old Lee Chin, his father, and his cousin Yi have come to America to help build the transcontinental railroad. After a harrowing Pacific crossing, Lee Chin is placed as a cook's assistant in a Chinese labor camp. He is a bright, hardworking, observant person who dreams of using his earnings to rescue his little sister, Sunshine, who has been sold into slavery by his father. Lee Chin finds that Americans can be both inhospitable to the Chinese and capable of kindness. He describes the hard and dangerous work the Chinese do for the Union Pacific Railroad. Yi is killed in an accident involving the use of nitroglycerin during the work on the Summit tunnel. Lee Chin's tale is compellingly told as he shows imagination and tenacity, befriends Americans, and makes the best of the opportunities offered to him. Historical information is accurate and honest about the period depicted.-Kathryn Kosiorek, formerly at Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.