Project Description

Picture Books

The Dragon New Year

by David Bouchard
illustrated by Zhong-Yang Huang

The essence of ancient China is charmingly evoked for young readers by David Bouchard’s tale of courage, kindness, love, and inspiration.

Every spring, the Chinese New Year is heralded by noise and sound: a clash of cymbals, the splash of fireworks across the sky, shouts and whistles and bright lights. Yet how did these traditions begin? A young girl, frightened into sleeplessness by the celebrations outside her bedroom window, takes comfort in her grandmother’s wise, soothing words as she tells a tale of the Dragon New Year.

Children will be fascinated by this mythic story, which weaves together a monstrous sea dragon, a mother’s sorrow, and a powerful Buddha. Illustrator Zhong-Yang Huang’s lavish paintings capture the imagery of the grandmother’s words. Colorful, evocative, and haunting, they are a perfect accompaniment to this modern-day fable.

This book is out of stock

Format: Hardcover
Price: $16.95
ISBN: 978-1-56145-210-1
Publication Date: 9/1/1999
Page Count: 32
Size: 9-7/8 ̎ x 12-1/4 ̎
Age Range: 6 – 10
Language: English

AR Level: 5.1
F&P: R, Gr 4, Genre TL
Lexile: AD540L
Themes: Celebrations, Chinese New Year, Grandparents

Reviews

“It’s the extra-large pictures that are most dramatic here…. 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.” ―Booklist

Awards

The Original Art ―Society of Illustrators, 2000

Storytelling World Resource Awards (Honor, Tellable Stories-Ages 8-12) ―Storytelling World magazine, 2000

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Meet the Author

David Bouchard is the author of many books, including The Dragon New Year and the award-winning bestsellers The Elders Are Watching and If You’re Not from the Prairie, as well as the internationally renowned The Great Race. Bouchard won the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award in 1997. He lives in Canada. You can visit his website here.

Meet the Illustrator

Zhong-Yang Huang has built an impressive international career as an artist, melding contemporary Western influences with traditional Chinese painting. He has illustrated several children’s books, including The Dragon New Year, The Great Race, Buddha in the Garden, The Mermaid’s Muse, and Dragon of Heaven: The Memoirs of the Last Empress of China, all by David Bouchard. His striking paintings can be found in private and corporate collections around the world.