Fu-Dog

by Rumer Godden

The story of an English girl's search for her Chinese heritage. The embroidered satin Fu-Dog her great-uncle sends her from London's Chinatown enables Li-la to find her Chinese relatives and reconcile the English and Chinese sides of her family. Recommended.Li-la is determined to travel to London with her brother Malcolm, in order to visit the mysterious uncle who gave her Fu-dog, a tiny stuffed animal, and never forgets her birthday

Genres: Fiction, Picture Books, Childrens

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Margaret Rumer Godden was an English author of more than 60 fiction and non-fiction books. Nine of her works have been made into films, most notably Black Narcissus in 1947 and The River in 1951.
A few of her works were co-written with her elder sister, novelist Jon Godden, including Two Under the Indian Sun, a memoir of the Goddens' childhood in a region of India now part of Bangladesh.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous art, charming story. Designed like a picture-book to support the artwork, but really a full-on story for ages 6 to 10... especially recommended as a family read-aloud. Highly recommended, especially for families blending cultures. I would have read this over and over when I was 8 or 9, both for the pictures and for the grace of the language & subtle ideas resonating under the main theme.

A nice tradition would be to own the book, and read it every Chinese New Year.

[Gina House · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect book to read on Chinese New Year! Rumer Godden’s children’s story is a bit dated, but interesting and lively. The color illustrations are vibrant and exciting!

I love that this book deals with mixed race marriages and Chinese families. My father is Chinese and my mother is English/French/Italian, so I also grew up in a mixed race family.

The Chinese New Year celebrations in the story were mostly accurate, though a number of traditions that my own family follows were missing like sharing gifts of candy, oranges, money in red envelopes and special dishes of food.

Many of the descriptions of the Chinese family were cringe-worthy stereotypes, especially the way that the people spoke, but it’s an older book and I could look past it.

Overall, I was glad I read it, but I’m not sure if I would recommend this particular book to introduce Chinese New Year (or the Chinese culture itself) to young people.

[Sioux · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books as a child :)

[Monique]

"Great Uncle, is it true that everything you touch turns to gold?"

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much -- too much fantasy, too much good luck, too perfect a great uncle, a family that's too understanding, ...

Also, text and art don't reflect genetics. Somehow, a mother who is half Chinese (with brown wavy hair) marries an Anglo, has a blonde son and a daughter who looks very Asian. 'A throwback.' This is not a genetics term, nor is it used in the text, but I've heard it used when people talk about race.

(This is set in the Chinatown in London, so it's really not set in Asia but the story focuses on Chinese culture.)

[Irene B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another timeless Rumer Godden story, this time about a young girl discovering her cultural heritage as searches for her Chinese Great Uncle.

[Bobbi Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This subtle narrative of a mixed-race coming together via the powers of beauty and wonder, this is far more than a "children's book."