Children Of The Dragon

Children of the Dragon

by Ellen Hoffman

Children of the Dragon People's Press, 1974

Major publishers are making halting attempts to establish guidelines for young people's books, but many alternative presses are already turning out exclusively nonsexist stories.

One excellent book for young people is Children of the Dragon, about the people of North Vietnam. Based on the lives of two children before the signing of the 1972 Paris Peace Accords, the book tells of a real place where women become leaders and boys can cry. The book further serves to help young people understand the conflicts in Viet Nam, and the continuing resistance by the people of the north to outside controls.

Hoa. age 10, lives in the country village of of Dai Lai. and is visited by her 8 year old cousin. Tri, who has been sent from his home and family in Hanoi because of continual bombings by the Americans. Through their explorations, the courage and joy of the Vietnamese people are revealed. Their positive attitudes in the face of war, and their attempts to build a cooperative, non-sexist, non-exploitive society are a concrete example of the way it could be here.