Gene Luen Yang
Biography
Born in 1973 to a Taiwanese father and
mother from Hong Kong in 1973, Gene Luen
Yang began drawing as a very young child. He
decided to become an animator and later a
cartoonist because of his love of drawing. With
his father’s encouragement, Gene attended
the University of California at Berkeley and
studied computer science. After working two
years as a computer engineer, he became a
math and computer science teacher that
allowed him to pursue his writing career at
night while raising a family. He published his
first graphic novel, American Born Chinese in
2006. It became the first graphic novel to win
the Michael L. Printz award. He has written
several other books including The Boxers, The
Saints, Superman Smashes the Klan,
Dragonball, and others.
Significant Works
Common Themes in Yang’s Literary Works
Betrayal
Friendship
Identity
Lies and Deceit
Violence
Appearances
Humility
Coming of Age
Transformation
Foreignness and "The Other"
Versions of Reality
Overcoming Obstacles
Why Teach Gene Luen Yang
Gene Luen Yang argues an excellent case as to why the graphic
novel should be included in today’s classrooms with this
generation of students growing up in a highly visual world, albeit
digital one. It goes without saying that his novels should be
included in that list to engage today’s readers, especially the
struggling ones. His award-winning American Born Chinese has
the character and complex plot development that would be just
as perfect for the English 9 classroom as Sherman Alexie’s
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. Furthermore, the
visuals make the language comprehensible to the English
Language Learner. Superman Smashes the Klan or Dragon
Hoops would make great books for literature circles. Dragon
Hoops would also be
Cautions
Since Gene Luen Yang deals with racism openly in his books and even grossly
stereotypical through Chinkee’s character in American Born Chinese, it is
important to forewarn students and even have a respectful discussion about
race before reading the books: American Born Chinese, Superman Smashes
the Klan, Dragonball. Yang's books have been criticized for ethnic stereotypes
but they have not been banned as of yet. There may come a time when the
inclusion of religion in his books also receives criticism as it too can be a controversial topic.
http://cbldf.org/2013/09/be-counted-gene-yang-celebrates-banned-books-week/
Author’s Influences
Yang was first influenced by DC Comics that he fell in love with while in
elementary school. Hence, he writes graphic novels and thinks they should be
used in classrooms everywhere. His mother also greatly influenced him
because she told him stories about the monkey king which is a part of his
heritage. According to Yang, there are so many different stories about the
monkey king, it is like a genre of its own in China.
American Born Chinese
Yang’s blockbuster graphic novel is actually
three stories interwoven into one. In “The
Monkey King,” the first story, tells how a
monkey rules over all the monkeys of the
world and considers himself to be a deity in his
own right. When he hears about a party in
heaven, he decides to attend; however, things
do not go as he plans. Story 2 is the main
story and it is about Jin Wang, the son of
Chinese immigrants. Jin lived with his parents
in San Francisco’s Chinatown before moving
to an area where there are not as many
Chinese people or other minorities. At his new
school Jin is ostracized and harassed because
he is Chinese. Another Asian student, who is a
Japanese girl, also is bullied. Wanting to fit in,
Jin tolerates the bullying of an older, bigger
student just to have a playmate at recess.
When a male Taiwanese student comes to his
school, Wei-Chen Sun, Jin initially tries to
distance himself from Wei-Chen by telling him
to speak English. Wei-Chen shares his
transformer action figure with Jin and they
become best friends. The third story,
“Everyone Ruvs Chin-Kee” must be read with
caution because it includes an extremely
stereotypical Chinese character named
Chin-Kee. He is introduced as the cousin of
Danny and visits Danny once a year. He
embarrasses Danny so badly that Danny
eventually switches schools each time his
cousin appears. Jin and Danny experience
the trials of the typical teenager including
friendships and romantic relationships. Jin
does not handle the racism he encounters so
well at one point, and he jeopardizes his
relationship with his best friend. The trials of
The Monkey King, Jin, and Danny come
together in a surprising way at the end.
Reflections…
I chose Gene Luen Yang because I think graphic
novels may be a way to engage many of my male
students to read more. At first, I was not impressed
by Gene Luen Yang’s writing after reading Jason
Reynolds Long Way Down which used figurative
language profusely. However, Yang’s news
reporting style is befitting of comic books and
thereby graphic novels. What makes American
Born Chinese noteworthy and award winning is the
plot development of three stories that revolve
around Asian characters and are curiously brought
together in the end. Over the years, Asians have
been attacked because of their race at times while
they have also been considered the model
minorities or immigrants also. Through Jin, Wei
Chen, and Suzy who hail from different countries,
we get an authentic and enlightening picture of the
teen Asian experience in the United States. We
also feel their pain when they are treated as
outsiders. This novel would be great for a high
school English class as the main text or a literature
circle.
Dragon Hoops
Dragon Hoops is more of a memoir. It tells the story of the author and his decision to write a story about
basketball. Being a non-athlete himself, Gene does not like sports. As a full-time teacher and ambitious
writer, Gene Luen Yang decides his next book will be about the O’Dowd high school where he works and
its basketball team bid to win the state championship. Gene travels with the team to all of their games
and interviews the players and the coaches. He becomes a true fan as he gets to know the players,
watch them play, and learn more about the game of basketball. As always, there are layers of stories
that Yang tells. Coach Lou Richie, an African-American alumni of O’Dowd and now coach, once played
for the team he now coaches. Richie's former coach and mentor, Mike Phelps, received lots of
recognition for winning tons of basketball games and coming close to the championship, but he nor
anyone else at O’Dowd has ever won it. The O’Dowd team is diverse with players such as Alex, a
Chinese immigrant who came just to the U.S. just to play basketball and Jeevin, a Punjabi who practices
Sikhism.
Reflections: Being a huge basketball fan, I found Dragon Hoops an inspiring read. Yang’s
telling of the on the court action was just as exciting to me when I have heard sports
commentators narrating intense moments of a basketball game. Furthermore, Yang
interweaves the players’ stories in a way that flows together. Jeevin, the Punjabi basketball
player, hates Gandhi a lot because he failed to acknowledge Sikhism and many of Jeevin’s
family were killed as a result. Another player, Austin Walker, is looking to win the championship
and “leave it all on the floor” because he wants to be just a student in college and not worry
about being an athlete. Aspiring basketball players would be able to make connections as they
read this book. In addition to the players’ stories, I had a court-side seat to Yang’s life as a
teacher, a writer, a husband, and a father. He wrestles as a writer with what to include in this
memoir that includes people he knows and respects.
Superman Smashes the Klan
DC Comic fans will not be disappointed by
Gene Luen Yang’s handling of Superman in
Superman Smashes the Klan. In this satisfying
heroic story, Yang reveals Superman’s origins
while recounting the story of the Lee family, an
Asian family who moves from Chinatown to
the heart of San Francisco and must confront
the Ku Klux Klan. Tommy Lee fits in with his
new school and neighbors because he joins
the community center baseball team.
Unfortunately, his sister Roberta has always
had a harder time making friends and does not
appreciate Tommy’s notoriety in view of her
feeling like an outcast. When the Klan targets
the Lee family, it is Roberta who serves as
Nancy Drew and works with Jimmy Olsen to
undermine the Klan’s plot against anyone who
stands against them. They naturally must have
Superman’s help throughout the story.
Roberta, Tommy, and Jimmy act very
courageously against the Klan but they all look
up to and depend upon Superman who never
lets them down.
“Inspired by the 1940’s Superman radio serial
“Clan of the Fiery Cross,” New York Times
bestselling author Gene Luen Yang and artist
Girihiru bring us a timely personal story of
immigration, battling adversity and finding
home.” (back cover}
Reflections
Having grown up watching the Justice League
with Superman, Wonder Woman and many
more superheroes, I thoroughly enjoyed
reading this story about standing up for
oneself and finding one’s true self in the midst
of adversity. Superman learns the truth about
his parents in the story which helps him to
finally accept himself fully and all of his
powers. It is interesting that he experienced
the difficulties of being different from others
just as the Lee family, especially Roberta Lee,
must face when they move to a mostly white
neighborhood. I highly recommend this book
for reluctant young adult readers.
Annotated Resources List
Fishtank Learning website: This website has a unit plan called “Exploring Identity: American
Born Chinese.” It has essential questions, enduring understandings, graphic organizers, and
more. https://www.fishtanklearning.org/curriculum/ela/7th-grade/american-born-chinese/
Gene Yang’s website: The website has a blog, interviews, videos and much more.
https://geneyang.com/
Pop Culture Classroom website: In its mission to inspire a love of learning, increase literacy,
and celebrate diversity, popcultureclassroom.org has many wonderful resources. The website
has a guide to American Born Chinese with pre-reading activities, discussion questions,
character project with a rubric, projects for other content areas and more.
https://popcultureclassroom.org/
TeachingBooks.net The website has a ton of resources including all of Yang’s books, nonprint
resources, graphic organizers, and more.
https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?aid=325#Resources
Non-Print Resources
Reading Rockets Interview with Gene Louen Yang: In this interview Yang answers many questions
about his books. https://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/yang
DC Comic Guide to Superman Smashes the Klan book trailer: Less than a minute, this video captures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyolf51ZmpI
Dragon Hoops Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQWEccmcC1U
Gene Yang Ted Talk: Comics belong in the classroom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQWEccmcC1U
Superman Smashes the Klan Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQWEccmcC1U
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gene-luen-yang/dragon-hoops/
Literary Reviews
Review
The trials of a high school basketball team
trying to clinch the state title and the graphic
novelist chronicling them.
The Dragons, Bishop O’Dowd High School’s
basketball team, have a promising lineup of
players united by the same goal. Backed by
Coach Lou Richie, an alumnus himself, this
could be the season the Oakland, California,
private Catholic school breaks their record.
While Yang (Team Avatar Tales, 2019, etc.), a
math
teacher
and
former
National
Ambassador for Young People's Literature, is
not particularly sporty, he is intrigued by the
potential of this story and decides to focus his
next graphic novel on the team’s ninth bid for
the state championship. Yang seamlessly
blends a portrait of the Dragons with the
international history of basketball while also
tying in his own career arc as a graphic
novelist as he tries to balance family, teaching,
and comics. Some panels directly address the
creative process, such as those depicting an
interaction between Yang and a Punjabi
student regarding the way small visual details
cue ethnicity in different ways. This creative
combination of memoir and reportage elicits
questions of storytelling, memory, and creative
liberty as well as addressing issues of equity
and race. The full-color illustrations are varied
in layout, effectively conveying intense
emotion and heart-stopping action on the
court. Yang is Chinese American, Richie is
black, and there is significant diversity among
the team members.
A winner. (notes, bibliography) (Graphic
nonfiction. 13-18)
Pictures
Analysis
Picture?Review?
Picture?Review?
In this graphic-novel adaptation of the 1940s
storyline entitled “The Clan of the Fiery Cross” Analysis?Picture
from The Adventures of Superman radio show,
readers are reintroduced to the hero who
regularly saves the day but is unsure of
himself and his origins. The story also focuses
on Roberta Lee, a young Chinese girl. She
and her family have just moved from
Chinatown to Metropolis proper, and mixed
feelings abound. Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane’s
colleague from the Daily Planet, takes a larger
role here, befriending his new neighbors, the
Lees. An altercation following racial slurs
directed at Roberta’s brother after he joins the
local baseball team escalates into an act of
terrorism by the Klan of the Fiery Kross. What
starts off as a run-of-the-mill superhero story
then becomes a nuanced and personal
exploration of the immigrant experience and
blatant and internalized racism. Other main
characters are White, but Black police
inspector William Henderson fights his own
battles against prejudice. Clean lines,
less-saturated coloring, and character designs
reminiscent of vintage comics help set the
tone of this period piece while the varied panel
cuts and action scenes give it a more