Chinese New Year's Dragon

by Rachel Sing, Shao Wei Liu (Illustrator)

A festive account of one family’s Chinese New Year celebration. A little girl describes the preparations—everything from cleaning and shopping to food preparation and gifts—leading up to a magical Lunar New Year. In one dreamy sequence, the girl imagines herself in Ancient China, riding on a dragon, and watching the celebration unfold.

Genres: China, Picture Books, Cultural, Childrens, Holiday, Dragons, Nonfiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1992

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

This book felt really info-dump-y to me -- and the whole thing is a leadup to "One year on the dark night of the new moon, something positively magical happened to me," and we exactly 2 illustrations of that magical experience, which to me did not justify all the build-up.

[Davanh Souvanarath · Rating 4 out of 5]

This children's book was very informational. I enjoyed how Rachel Sling used Chinese phrases and further explained the phrases in detail afterwards. She stated different traditions that took place during the celebration and also further explained those as well. There were a good amount of supporting details for a child to be able to read the story and understand what it is about. Although I thought this was a well written story, there was no rich thick plot to really hook a child into the story. The story would have been more intriguing to a child if it went a little more in detail about the dragons. The illustrations were beautiful and supported the story. I enjoyed seeing pictures of real traditional items (red envelopes) inserted into the text. I was unsure where the setting was being depicted. I did not see a lot of variety in culture groups besides Chinese people. This story could be seen as a mirror or a window into someone's culture and life.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful for educators, with appealing art (note the small photos on some pages) and a graceful first-person narrative, but as another reviewer points out, the special event is much too brief. Still, I do recommend it to those who want to learn more about Chinese customs that are still enjoyed in the West today.

[Lindsey Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives a child's view of Chinese New Years. It gives a good over view of what it means to them, when it occurs, & about some of the traditions. Any Chinese words are explained and the end has a small glossary for help as well. The illutrations are colorful and help tell the story too.

[Jody Kyburz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview of Lunar New Year, celebrated by people in more countries than just China. Thank you, Rachel Sing and Shao Wei Liu!

[Spencer Wanlass · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sing, Rachel, and Shao Wei Liu. Chinese New Year's Dragon. Cleveland: Modern Curriculum, 1992. Print. Nonfiction. Chinese New Year’s Dragon is about a Chinese family that is celebrating the Chinese New Year and the Grandma tells the story of why the Dragon is important to the Chinese Culture. This story is very interesting with its facts and plot. It is a very informative story bringing in the story behind the Dragon while keeping the attention of children. China has a lot of history that cannot be covered in a short book, so it was very interesting to be able to read a little bit about their history. In a class setting I would use this book to talk about Chinese New Years. Chinese New Years is an interesting holiday that kids love to learn about. Being diverse in different cultures is important for a child to be well rounded.

[Seher Patka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would use this book when discussing different cultures. This Chinese girl talks about dragons with her grandmother and finds herself on the back of a dragon flying through China.