Dragon Road

291 pages of greatness describes Laurence Yep's book, Dragon Road. Calvin Chin and his best friend Barney are residents of San Francisco's Chinatown. They like to challenge strangers at basketball and make bets to get money. One day when they are playing a game, the coach of a basketball team sees how good they are, and offers them a chance to play on the San Francisco Dragons. At first Calvin doesn't really want to play on an official team. But when they hear how much they get paid for each game, they decide to do it. They pack up most of their things and set off to play basketball. The van that they use to travel in is in horrible condition, so they have to stop for repairs along the way. The team makes many stops throughout the country and wins most of their games. Then they arrive in Idaho and see snow for the first time in their lives. They stop and play in it for a while, then set back off to play more games. On the way, one of their car's tires pops and they don't have a spare. The tire has patches all over it, so they are actually patching patches now. Then they arrive in a tiny Chinatown in the middle of nowhere. They stay in a motel instead of the van and wash their clothes and have some Chinese food. The season is starting to come to an end, so they play even harder. Calvin hurts his wrist and can't play for a few games, so he is pretty upset about that. Then comes the last game, which they win. They start the long journey back to Chinatown. When they get back, they find out that Calvin's father died, and they have a funeral. Calvin and Barney both agree that they loved their experience on the team and can't wait to come back next season. I recommend this book to sports lovers and anyone who loves a good read.

Skunk Scout (NOTE- All books blogged on starting with this one are third quarter books)

Laurence Yep is the author of the 179 page novel, Skunk Scout. Teddy lives in San Francisco's Chinatown and his celebrating his birthday with his family. When he opens his uncle's present, it is a can of mosquito spray. Teddy asks why and his uncle says that his birthday present to him is that they are going camping on Mount Tamalpais. Teddy has never been out of San Francisco before. His brother Bobby asks to come along with them. Teddy is hesitant at first, but when he sees how much Bobby wants to go, he gives in and they start planning the trip. Bobby goes to the library and gets several books on camping, so when the day finally comes, they are all prepared and ready. When they got to the campsite, Teddy had the brilliant idea of putting the hamburger in dry ice instead of regular ice. For the rest of the trip, they ate nothing but marshmallows, candy, and berries. Their uncle trips in poison ivy on one of their hikes and has to stay in the tent for two nights. Then on their last day, they set out on a long hike to the sea. But on the way, they get lost and Teddy has to use his survival skills to get them back to the campsite. They never get to the ocean, but all three of them agree that this was their best day of the camp. When they get back to Chinatown, they decide that they are not the type of people who are made for camping. Teddy says that his idea of vacation is a triple-feature at the cinema. Anyone who loves reading would probably enjoy this book.

Devils Arithmetic Responce

D)- Explain how Hannah came to better understand her family and their traditions after her "experience".
     Hannah came to better understand her family and their traditions because she saw what they all had to go through to be the family that they are today. Before her experience, she didn't really know what her family and religion had gone through. When Hannah was in the Holocaust she learned that she should have followed her cultures customs and listen to the stories her relatives had to tell her. She learned that everything she was doing was for a reason, not just to get together and have a party. Hannah also learned to understand what the number tattoos on some of her relatives arms was, and what that picture meant to her aunt. Hannah's experience helped her to better understand her family and traditions.

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