Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman (first published 1925) is a collection of stories taking place in China and featuring Chinese traditions. Although some of the tales are interesting reading, the lack of authenticity and subtle racism of the past make it a questionable book to give young children today. There are many
The Truth About Dragons by Julie Leung (illustrated by Hanna Cha; Henry Holt & Company, 2023) captures two different dragon traditions with rich illustrations depicting each culture’s tradition in a style reminiscent of the culture. Leung picture book is told from the grandmother’s perspectives, as if telling the child the story. The distinct shift between
Sir Circumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander, illustrated by Wayne Geehan. Sir Circumference is a silly story that uses finding pi as a solution to a problem: the Knight Sir Circumference has been turned into a dragon. Characters named Radius and Lady Di of Ameter help him by finding a potion with poetic instructions telling
In the book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, Minli wants to change her family’s fortune, so she travels to Never-Ending Mountain to see the Old Man of the Moon. She wants to change her fortune so Fruitless Mountain will be green and her family will have more money. Telling stories is repeated, again
We recently listened to an amazing audiobook that surprised me by its depth and language. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin is a Newbery Honor book for good reason. By weaving Chinese traditional folktale into a modern story about a girl living in poverty, Ms Lin creates a fairy tale odyssey that
King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury (Dial Books, 2011) fits in my self-imposed description of a perfect picture book: the text and the pictures are both required to tell the full story. Jack, Zack, and Jack’s baby brother Caspar are knights fighting dragons, planning to spend all night in their
A visit to the beach gets a bit confused in When a Dragon Moves In by Jodi Moore and illustrated by Howard McWilliam (Flashlight Press, 2011). This book is a warning for all those children who make perfect sandcastles, for a dragon is certain to move into it! As the little boy plays in the sand, the dragon
Argus by Michelle Knudsen and illustrated by Andrea Wesson (Candlewick, February 2011) is about learning to be okay with being different, particularly when Sally has a very different kind of pet. From the first day when Sally got her assigned egg from her science teacher, she thought something was different. And when everyone else’s eggs
The 1985 Caldecott winner is a retelling of a story from Edmund Spencer’s Faerie Queen, Saint George and the Dragon, by Margaret Hodges and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. I’m not familiar with the original story, but this retelling is full of adventure as the brave knight faces the dragon day after day until it is
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