Reviews

The Truth About Dragons by Julie Leung

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nairam1173's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective

4.0

Beautiful exploration of multiculturalism and biracial identity through a magical, folkloric lens, which, now that I've seen it, feels like one of the best lenses possible.

roseleaf24's review

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4.0

What a sweet story, with gorgeous illustrations. This book introduces both dominant versions of dragons and allows a young boy to claim both.

librarydreams's review

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adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book is beautiful! First, Leung's use of the different interpretations of dragons in Eastern and Western stories as a metaphor for being biracial is brilliant. Cha's illustrations take this book to the next level. Every page is detailed and gorgeous! I loved how she confined the pictures within a frame during the Western parts of the story, and then has the child literally step out of the frame as he explores the Eastern part. She also distinguishes the two worlds with contrasting color palettes. Honestly, this book is worth reading for the pictures alone.

bickie's review

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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."

intensej's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

The artwork in this book was beautiful. The mom in the book encourages her son to go to two different wise women (his grandmothers) to learn about dragons. His grandmothers talk about two very different dragons. The young boy in the book is a biracial child and the dragons can serve as metaphors for the two different cultures that live inside of him.