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A review by mnboyer
Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon by Kat Zhang
5.0
PopSugar 2023 reading challenge #5
At the beginning of this book, Amy’s class is listening to the teacher read a story about dragons. The kids are then asked to draw dragons as an activity after the story; Amy draws what one would call a ‘traditional Chinese dragon’ and the kids in her class question if it is a dragon or not. Amy actually goes home having not finished her dragon drawing. Her grandmother then tells her traditional Chinese stories about dragons (in which we see, through the illustrations, that Amy knows exactly what a dragon looks like). She makes a giant patchwork dragon and then brings it to the school to explain to the other students what Chinese dragons look like. Now, we have learned the difference between Eastern and Western dragons.
How to Use This Book: I would use this book exactly as the story does – talk to students about dragons, ask them to draw dragons, and then discuss the different kinds of dragons that exist. Ideally, there would be all kinds of different dragons. This could also be used as a general example of Chinese children’s literature.
Personal Response: The Amy Wu series is truly becoming one of my favorite examples of children’s picture books that represent diversity. It is true that there are some potential stereotypes in these stories (food, dragons/festivals, etc.) but they are discussed in a respectful way, an engaging way, and ask the reader to be part of the story and to invite them into the culture to learn more. The illustrations are perfect for kids – great colors, easy to follow, and did I mention Amy has a cat sidekick?
At the beginning of this book, Amy’s class is listening to the teacher read a story about dragons. The kids are then asked to draw dragons as an activity after the story; Amy draws what one would call a ‘traditional Chinese dragon’ and the kids in her class question if it is a dragon or not. Amy actually goes home having not finished her dragon drawing. Her grandmother then tells her traditional Chinese stories about dragons (in which we see, through the illustrations, that Amy knows exactly what a dragon looks like). She makes a giant patchwork dragon and then brings it to the school to explain to the other students what Chinese dragons look like. Now, we have learned the difference between Eastern and Western dragons.
How to Use This Book: I would use this book exactly as the story does – talk to students about dragons, ask them to draw dragons, and then discuss the different kinds of dragons that exist. Ideally, there would be all kinds of different dragons. This could also be used as a general example of Chinese children’s literature.
Personal Response: The Amy Wu series is truly becoming one of my favorite examples of children’s picture books that represent diversity. It is true that there are some potential stereotypes in these stories (food, dragons/festivals, etc.) but they are discussed in a respectful way, an engaging way, and ask the reader to be part of the story and to invite them into the culture to learn more. The illustrations are perfect for kids – great colors, easy to follow, and did I mention Amy has a cat sidekick?