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"Dragon Dancing" by Carole Lexa Schaefer

Author:

Carole Lexa Schaefer

Illustrator:

Pierr Morgan

Publisher:

Viking, 2007

Reviewed by:

Kristine Wildner, Holy Apostles School, New Berlin, WI

Illustrating the creativity and enthusiasm of multi-cultural preschool children, Dragon Dancing begins with the children listening to a story about dragons. Afterwards, the kids take the dragon theme into the art room where they create a paper dragon. Colorful language such as “ricky-rack backs” describes the artistic endeavors of the children as they create a simple Chinese dragon out of ribbons and paper materials. The classmates’ imaginations take off, and they all enter an imaginary world. The dragon is “zig-zagging” over mountains, “”slip-sliding” across the sea and into other exciting environments. It’s only when their teacher calls them back that they re-enter reality.

Pierr Morgan’s fantastic gouache and marker illustrations depict the enthusiasm and diversity of the children. Although the easy storyline somewhat limits the audience to young students, the use of onomatopoeia is an excellent model for older children. Moreover, Dragon Dancing is a fun story to include in a lesson related to the Chinese New Year, teaching the definition of setting, or as an example of this unique illustration medium.