The Day the Dragon Danced [Hardcover]

Kay Haugaard (Author), Carolyn Reed Barritt (Illustrator)

Book Description

Sugar and her Grandma are going to the Chinese New Year's Day parade, but Grandma is skeptical about New Year's in February and scary dragons. Sugar has learned all about what to expect from her teacher Miss Peng, though, and is more than ready to try dragon beard's candy and watch her daddy dance in the New Year's dragon. Finally, after all the other floats drive by, the huge red and gold dragon pokes his head around the corner and dances down the street. Sugar tries to remember which shoes are her daddy's, and realizes the dragon isn't dancing so well. Sugar's quick thinking saves the day and the dragon's dance, and everyone in the community is ready to celebrate the new lunar year. As the dragon dancers emerge from beneath the dragon, Sugar recognizes her neighbors, including shopkeeper Mr. Chu, barber Mr. Johnson, teacher Mr. Gonzalez, and her own African-American daddy. Kay Haugaard's exuberant storytelling and Carolyn Reed Barritt's equally colorful and lively paintings perfectly embody truly multicultural celebration of our American melting pot.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2–4—Narrated by a contemporary African-American girl, this wordy story tries too hard to bridge cultures by making a traditional Chinese custom acceptable to the child's skeptical black grandmother. At a parade celebrating the Chinese New Year, Sugar and Grandma watch the dance of a bouncing, colorful dragon whose bright cloth is held on poles by Daddy, identifiable only by his red shoelaces, and a diverse crew of community members. After Sugar ties her father's shoelaces, the bumpy dragon finds its rhythm. While the bright, watercolor paintings convey the dragon's initial clumsiness, much of the two-dimensional art in the naive style lacks a focal point to attract readers' eyes. The story of making the dragon dance is a thin metaphor for multiculturalism: "It takes a while to learn to dance together," Daddy concludes at the end of the parade. The book's didactic message may be most useful in collections with a need for picture books about Chinese-American and African-American relations.—Julie R. Ranelli, Kent Island Branch Library, Stevensville, MD
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About the Author

Kay Haugaard studied Art History at the University of Oregon, then moved to Pasadena, California with her husband. There, she acquired her Master's degree in Comparative Literature at Occidental College while raising her three sons who are now grown. Kay still lives in Pasadena where, over the years, she has written three other books: Myeko's Gift, China Boy, and No Place. The Day the Dragon Danced was inspired by a Chinese New Year parade that she attended in Monterey Park, California. Carolyn Reed Barritt received an art degree from Macalester College and worked for 15 years as a graphic designer and art director in Michigan and Washington State before returning to her roots in painting and fine art. Carolyn painted the illustrations for The Day the Dragon Danced while living with her husband as the caretakers and sole winter inhabitants of a small island at the edge of the North Atlantic.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Shen's Books (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885008309
• ISBN-13: 978-1885008305
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #375,168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warm tale of quick thinking and cultural celebration, January 6, 2007

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Day the Dragon Danced (Hardcover)

Carolyn Reed Barritt's lovely drawings spice the story of a Chinese New Year's Day parade that is something different when an Afro-American girl takes her grandmother to the event. Grandma is skeptical about a February New Year's celebration, but Sugar has learned all about the ceremony and wants her grandmother to watch her father dance in the parade. When trouble threatens, Sugar uses her knowledge to help in this warm tale of quick thinking and cultural celebration, perfect for grades 3-5.