Fu-Dog

A Chinese English girl, her brother, and a toy dog run off to London to see their Chinese great uncle and have a wonderful adventure.

Grade 1-4-- When a four-inch green satin Fu-dog arrives at the Smith house in Devon, a gift from Great Uncle, Malcolm declares it hideous, but his seven-year-old sister Li-la loves her latest birthday present from faraway London. Although her half-Chinese mother looks "like any English mum," and her brother is blonde, Li-la closely resembles the Chinese relations she has never met. Her father claims they are "too pernickity" for him, while her mother sighs that Dad is "too rough and ready" for them. Still, Li-la longs to know her Chinese grandmother's brother. Encouraged by conversations with the Fu-dog, Li-la persuades Malcolm to take her to London. Without their parents' knowledge, they make the train journey and manage, by great good fortune, to find Great Uncle's restaurant in London's Chinatown just as Chinese New Year celebrations begin. While Li-la's racial identity crisis is too easily solved, readers who like Godden's other oriental doll fantasies ( Miss Happiness and Miss Flower and Little Plum both Penguin, 1987) will enjoy this shorter book. With warm, appealing illustrations and delicate borders on every page, Fu-Dog most resembles Gooden's The Story of Holly and Ivy (Penguin, 1985) , its nostalgic flavor spiced with a dash of the pleasantly exotic. --Margaret A. Chang, Buxton School, Williamstown, MA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.