Sunday, June 10, 2018

Dragon Dancer by Joyce Chng - ESSENTIAL

Chng, Joyce Dragon Dancer, illustrated by Jérémy Pailler. 32 pages. PICTURE BOOK Lantana Publishing, 2018. $18.
EL (K-3) ESSENTIAL

Although Yao is just a boy, he has loved the beautiful ancient dragon Shen Long since he was a little boy and his grandfather was the dragon dancer, now his grandfather is gone and he is the Dragon Dancer. For Chinese New Year, he dances the dragon at the shopping mall, bringing good luck and getting rid of the bad luck. His grandfather would be so proud. 

There is a beautiful mix in this story of realism and fantasy. The sounds of the dragon talking are mesmerizing, and Tao's imagery of flying into the sky with the bad luck as he and the dragon do their job is both wondrous and beautiful. This is a great story to read at or about Chinese New Year. Includes an author's description of her childhood experiences at Chinese New Year and an explanation of the tradition of the dragon dancers.

Lisa Librarian

No comments: