Scan barcode
A review by bickie
The Truth About Dragons by Julie Leung
4.0
Beautiful book about holding two conflicting truths at the same time. A mother tells her child about the two pathways in his heart, provided by his two grandmothers, that lead to the "truth about dragons." These two different truths are based in western European and Chinese mythology, and the pathways both match these storytelling traditions.
The child's gender is not clear in the text, which uses the 2nd person. The illustrations show a child with short hair and pants. The book jacket describes the child using he/him pronouns.
The story describing the western European pathway, which is told first, uses words and phrases such as "sturdiest boots," "gnarled groves," "trickles," "encounter mischievous hobgoblins," "peer," "demanding trinkets," "speak briefly," "glowing will-o'-the-wisps," "gentle whispers lure," "humble...cottage," "perched on stilts," and "boggy swamp," "cedar chests," and "cauldron." The Chinese pathway story is a little less dense with possibly challenging language, with words and phrases such as "jagged mountaintops," "dwells," "delicate porcelain bowl," and "embedded."
The child's gender is not clear in the text, which uses the 2nd person. The illustrations show a child with short hair and pants. The book jacket describes the child using he/him pronouns.
The story describing the western European pathway, which is told first, uses words and phrases such as "sturdiest boots," "gnarled groves," "trickles," "encounter mischievous hobgoblins," "peer," "demanding trinkets," "speak briefly," "glowing will-o'-the-wisps," "gentle whispers lure," "humble...cottage," "perched on stilts," and "boggy swamp," "cedar chests," and "cauldron." The Chinese pathway story is a little less dense with possibly challenging language, with words and phrases such as "jagged mountaintops," "dwells," "delicate porcelain bowl," and "embedded."