Dragon New Year [Hardcover]

Dave Bouchard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1999

Frightened into sleeplessness by the noisy celebration of the Chinese New Year, a young girl takes comfort in her grandmother's soothing story of a dragon, a mother's sorrow, and Buddha.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Grade 1-4-An original story that explains why the Chinese make noise and explode fireworks to celebrate a new year. The book begins in modern times, with a grandmother telling her granddaughter the reason for the commotion that frightens her on New Year's Eve. In "olden days," she says, people fled their village at the turn of the year, dreading the annual visit of a man-eating dragon named New Year. After watching the creature devour her fisherman son stranded at sea, a grieving old woman refuses to flee the following year. Offering hospitality to a mysterious stranger who turns out to be the Buddha, she is told how to use fire and noise to fend off the dragon. The wordy text is accompanied by large, flamboyant paintings reminiscent of oil works by European old masters, well composed and dramatic, but overpowering. In fact, the narrative seems contrived as a vehicle to showcase the art. An author's note offers brief information on the Buddha, dragons in Chinese folklore, and traditional Chinese New Year customs. Not a first purchase.
Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

The subtitle says this is a legend, but as Bouchard points out in the afterword, he made up the story, staying true to Chinese history and folklore. A small girl is scared of the noise and bright lights of the Dragon Dance in the traditional New Year celebration. Her grandmother comforts her with a story. In the olden days, Grandmother says, everything was dead quiet at New Year as people fled in fear from the ferocious sea dragon. Where the dragon lived at the bottom of the ocean, it was dark and quiet, so the wise Buddha worked out a plan to frighten the dragon with light and loud noise. It's the extra-large pictures that are most dramatic here: pale in color when the people leave the place empty, glowing fiery red as the Buddha creates a firestorm and a bereaved mother makes a thundering uproar to drive away the dragon. Children will enjoy the reversal that the flaming pictures show: it's the fiery, noisy festival that frightens the monster away and keeps the child safe at home. Hazel Rochman --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Roundabout (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551922002
• ISBN-13: 978-1551922003
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,278,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most detail one to talk about Chinese New Year- from a Chinese reader's view, December 3, 2005

By 

K. Chu (Chandler, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dragon New Year (Hardcover)

This is the most detail book to talk about Chinese New Year. As a Chinese, I strongly recommand people want to know the story of Chinese New Year: read this one.
I read this to my Chinese School students who were born in America every year. Most of them love it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The artwork in this book is outstanding!, February 25, 2005

By 

KSL "emma-and-me" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dragon New Year: A Chinese Legend (Chinese Legends Trilogy) (Hardcover)

As I said in the title for my review, the artwork alone makes this book stand out! It's absolutely stunning! I can see where your child might be afraid of the Sea Dragon. The Chinese believed that each river or lake had it's own guardian dragon that lived in it's own palaces in the deepest part of that body of water.

I think this is a book where the parent will have to read the book prior to reading to their child as well as knowing how their child might react. If you read the inside of the dust jacket it says that there is some truth to this story and some that is made up. I think the author wove both traditional elements of the New Year where there are fireworks, Lion Dancers & Buddah, Sea Dragons, food and family. I think the author used his imagination on how this tradition could have come about!

I like this book, but I know my 2 year old daughter and at this time she is not ready to read this book, so if you'd like a book to add to your Chinese home library or about the Chinese New Year this is a nice addition and take a moment to read the book before you read to your child. Then gauge if you think the book will excite their imagination or cause them to be scared. Again, the artwork is just outstanding!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Least accurate and least enjoyable Ch. New year book!, April 5, 2000

By 

Lady "lady-in-nj" (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dragon New Year: A Chinese Legend (Chinese Legends Trilogy) (Hardcover)

We have read alot of Chinese New Year's books and found this to be the least enjoyable. We were surprised and disappointed to find a quite scary part in the middle. Not unless you read the afterword will you find out that Bouchard made up the story. (I do not think the subtitle should say it is a Chinese legend.) I would recommend that you stay away from this book, and certainly read it well before you consider reading it to any children. I would not want this to be anyone's first or only introduction to Chinese dragons, Chinese New Year's or the Year of the Dragon! If you use this book, do have others on hand and explain that this is just one person's view. (This is an especially strong reaction from me as we read lots of different versions of almost any story we read.)