Pacy and her family are spending a month over the summer in Taiwan. Pacy is excited to see her grandparents and other relatives, and eager to eat as many different kinds of dumplings as she can. But she’s also wary: her mother has signed Pacy and her sisters up for art classes with other Taiwanese American children. Pacy has been called a “Twinkie” in the past by Chinese American kids who think she’s too “white.” During weeks spent in bustling Taipei with their mother’s relatives, and in a country village with their father’s, Pacy and her sisters are immersed in family, food, and culture. The unfamiliarity of everything from language to public bathrooms makes Pacy appreciate how hard it must have been for her parents when they came to the United States. But in the art class, Pacy is frustrated. The kids don’t tease her, but the girl sitting next to her is determined to be the best in the class—a position Pacy is used to holding when it comes to art. Grace Lin’s latest novel about Pacy, first introduced in The Year of the Dog (Little, Brown, 2006), followed by The Year of the Rat (Little, Brown, 2008), is another sparkling, lively offering, but not without depth as Pacy learns to fully embraces being Taiwanese and American. (Ages 7–10)

A fresh new look for this modern classic by the Newbery-Award winning and bestselling author of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Pacy is back! The beloved heroine of The Year of the Dog and The Year of the Rat has returned in a brand new story. This summer, Pacy's family is going to Taiwan for an entire month to visit family and prepare for their grandmother's 60th birthday celebration. Pacy's parents have signed her up for a Chinese painting class, and at first she's excited. This is a new way to explore her art talent! But everything about the trip is harder than she thought it would be--she looks like everyone else but can't speak the language, she has trouble following the art teacher's instructions, and it's difficult to make friends in her class. At least the dumplings are delicious...

As the month passes by, Pacy eats chicken feet (by accident!), gets blessed by a fortune teller, searches for her true identity, and grows closer to those who matter most.