Leung, Julie. Truth About Dragons, The. Hanna Cha, Illus. Henry Holt, 08/2023. [40]pp. Picture Book. Trade $18.99. 978-1-250-82058-7. GRADES Kindergarten–3. OUTSTANDING.
An Asian mother tells her son a story about dragons, where he begins his journey through the forest and meets a white woman who describes fiery dragons. Then, he continues on through a bamboo forest, hears from the white rabbit in the moon, then meets an Asian woman who describes a dragon with powers of air and water. The two cultural descriptions of dragons, one European and one Asian, reflect the child’s biracial identity, and show the universality of dragons in mythology. The memorable text is fairly brief, with just a sentence or two per page, but it is the artwork that leaves the strongest impression. Accomplished using ink drawings colored digitally, the illustrations show the Western forest highlighted by browns and reds, and the Asian bamboo forest dominated by blues and greens. A Caldecott Honor book.
Penny Peck—SJSU iSchool