Reviews

The Boy Who Became a Dragon: A Bruce Lee Story by Jim Di Bartolo

jennybeastie's review against another edition

3.0

On the one hand, I appreciated how in depth this book is, and the focus on Bruce's life as a child. On the other, I agree with the criticism that a fictionalized biography should be more up front about the fictionalized aspects. I also did not find the art style appealing. That said, this is clearly written by someone who idolizes Bruce Lee, and it does have high appeal for kid readers.

mldavisreads's review against another edition

adventurous informative

4.5

Middle grade graphic novel biography.  I picked up this book after seeing it recommended somewhere.   I had heard of Bruce Lee in a very general sense but have never seen any of his films.  This book was interesting because it truly covered his whole life-- starting at his birth and then finishing with his untimely death.  His life was very interesting, with his father being a Chinese opera star, he was introduced to the film industry at a young age.  Despite success on the screen, he had a lot of trouble socially and was frequently involved in fighting.  Part of his trouble stemmed from his mother being half-German, and part of it from his father being seen as supportive of the Japanese during WWII.  Eventually he convinced his parents to let him study kung fu.  He took to that as well, practicing every chance he got.  His athleticism and focus also led him to success in dance competitions.  Eventually his trouble led him to the return to the US (he was born there and had dual citizeship).  He continued studying martial arts, started teaching it, and soon found his way back to cinema.  

This biography was very well done, showing how Lee's formative years started him on the path towards his success in martial arts.  I found it interesting to see that he was also into philosophy, but I know that martial arts have a lot of mental aspects as well as the physical so maybe it's not that surprising.  The author chose to add a few mystical elements based on Lee's being born in the year and the hour of the dragon.  Recommended for those interested in martial arts particularly, but can be enjoyed without that connection as well.

bookbrig's review against another edition

inspiring slow-paced

The art in this is fantastic, and I liked the way the zodiac creatures were tucked into the real life details. I picked this up because we've been booktalking non-fiction for our schools, and I didn't realize it was a graphic novel until I sat down to read it. I'd definitely recommend it for any kids doing a project where they need to read a biography, but I found it a little sparse on detail as an adult reader. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism

maidmarianlib's review against another edition

4.0

A well done graphic biography.

vzrivera's review against another edition

3.0

I wish there were more graphic novel biographies! I bet that'll be the next hot thing. I read this in 2 days. I really enjoyed it and I think it's great that they're sharing his story with a new generation.

beth_larter's review

medium-paced

4.0

stephisbranded's review against another edition

3.0

I liked this! I definitely learned a lot about Bruce Lee that I didn't know (he was part German!).

tinkeringlibrarian's review

2.0

Creepy amounts of orientalism in the illustrations, Japanese soldiers during WW2 look very much like the Asian/yellow scare caricatures, and there’s really know what to determine what’s true vs made up based on the author note. Written and illustrated by white people —not sure why they thought this was their story to tell. Especially odd as the book really emphasizes the anti-European racism of his childhood but leaves out a lot of the anti-Asian racism he must have faced as an adult. Pass.