A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans

“I was born in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1948, but grew up in a black neighborhood. During elementary and middle school, I commuted to a bilingual school in Chinatown. So I did not confront white American culture until high school. Approaching that culture as an outsider, I have been fascinated by all its aspects — from its great novels to its children’s literature, comic art, and science fiction. Thus, I am able to pursue the figure of the ‘stranger’ both in my studies and my writing.”While I was in high school, I discovered and began writing science fiction. At 18, my first short story was published — I was paid a penny a word by a science fiction magazine. I continued to write and five years later I published my first novel, Sweetwater. “In 1966, I attended Marquette University and graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1970. I received my doctorate in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where I wrote my dissertation on William Faulkner’s early novels. I now live in San Francisco with my wife, Joanne Ryder, and write and teach.”Probably the reason why much of my writing has found its way to a teenage audience is that I’m always pursuing the theme of being an outsider — an alien — and many teenagers feel they’re aliens. All of my books have dealt with the outsider — from the aliens of Sweetwater to alienated heroes such as the Chinese-American aviator in Dragonwings.” Today Laurence Yep is known as a premier Asian-American writer. His distinguished novels for young people that deal with the Asian-American experience include two Newbery Honor Award winners, Dragonwings and Dragon’s Gate. Mr.Yep, who has a Ph.D. in English, has taught at the University of California at Berkeley and Santa Barbara. He also is an award-winning playwright and has edited a collection of writings by Asian-Americans. Mr.Yep lives in San Francisco. Ribbons is his first book for Putnam.copyright ? 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.

Joanne Ryder has her own ties to Laura Ingalls Wilder. She helped edit West from Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder, San Francisco, 1915. Already in love with the city, Ingalls’s letters introduced Ryder to the 1915 San Francisco World’s Fair, providing the perfect backdrop for Winnie and Miss Drake’s adventures. In her storied career, Ryder has published more than seventy books and received numerous awards for her nature writing and poetry.

For as long as I can remember, I have felt a strong connection to animals. I enjoy learning about them, caring for them, and of course, when ever possible, drawing them. That’s why illustrating The Carnival of the Animals was such a joy. It was great fun figuring out what each animal should look like based on how the poems described them, and listening to the classical music while I drew each one helped a great deal. I believe animals all have unique personalities and abilities, and if we are observant, we can learn a great deal from them.   The first animal I ever truly connected with was my dog Skippy. He was a mix of rat terrier and Jack Russell. He was white with black spots. I was eight years old when we found him at the animal shelter in Bloomington Minnesota, the town I grew up in. The day we got him, we surprised my mom when we went to the grocery store where she was working as a cashier. We went through her checkout line to buy Skippy’s first bag of dog food. Needless to say my mom was not very happy with us that day, and I don’t recommend ever surprising a parent that way with a new pet . . . but the good news is, she ended up loving Skippy as much as the rest of us did.   Skippy and I had a very special relationship. At times it felt like we were actually talking to each other, especially when he would jump up into my lap, tilt his head and point just one ear up. It was as if he was just waiting for me to suggest something we could play together. One of our favorite things to do was to play hide-and-seek. There was an old oak tree that was perfect for climbing in the back yard. Well, no matter how often Skippy and I played hide-and-seek, I would always use the tree as one of my hiding places. I remember climbing up as high as I could go, while Skippy was wandering around in the front yard. After positioning myself comfortably in the highest branches, I would call, “SKIPPY. . . COME AND FIND ME!” Then I would hear the jingle of his dog tags, and wait and watch for him to come around to the back yard. I had a good view, peeking through the green clumps of leaves. As he got closer, I would call again and he would come running to the tree, never looking up, just circling the base, looking confused. Then he would run and sniff and snoop under bushes, behind the shed, or on the swing set. Finally, after a few more calls and more searching, I would quietly sneak down to the lowest branch and then jump to the ground, yelling, “HEEEERRRRE I AMMMM!” He would come running, so excited to see me, seeming so surprised that I had been hiding in the big oak. The funny thing is, no matter how many times I hid in that old oak tree, he never looked up to see me there. He never remembered that I always hid in the tree . . . or did he?   Today I wonder if Skippy always knew. Perhaps he was just letting me stay there while he pretended to hunt for me in other places? Skippy knew how to be a good sport and how to play with vigor. He taught me how to find enjoyment in the little things.   I hope you enjoy meeting the characters in The Carnival of the Animals. Perhaps you too will make a special connection.