How to Catch a Dragon

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I don't really care if the last words rhyme or not; when the meter is this clumsy, it's difficult to read. My daughter loves these "How to Catch a…" books, but I find it rather annoying based on the titles that one never actually catches these creatures. A kid tries to catch a good-luck dragon hiding around town as the family prepares for Chinese New Year following the formula established in How To Catch an Elf (2016) and other series installments. The simple and often awkward rhyming quatrains leave no room for deeper insights into Chinese culture, but each stanza does include one or two highlighted words whose Chinese translation can then be found within the illustration. A little boy desperately wants to catch a dragon to guarantee health and good fortune for the New Year.

It's great to do that in a book set in America, but if this was meant to teach us a bit about China, it's not quite the melting pot America is.He spends his non-writing time thinking about writing and going to as many live music shows as he can. For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo! I'm not understanding why this Chinese New Year seems to be set in the past, a pre-technology kind of feel surrounds the whole book, which wouldn't really be a problem if they book didn't include a whole bunch of characters of different diversities. All of Adam Wallace's "How to Catch" series are beautifully illustrated and cover ideas of creative thinking and inventive thought-process. He is in a series of stories by Hart in which he travels through various times and has wonderfully imaginative experiences.

My favorite part, however, was the inclusion of Mandarin translated words both throughout the book and in the back. So when the kid throws a taco party for the dragons, it seems a weak device that the clearly labeled “totally mild” salsa comes with spicy jalapenos in the fine print, prompting the dragons to burn down the house, resulting in a barn-raising at which more tacos are served. On the one hand, I really wanted to enjoy the story, but on the other, it's just kind of missing the mark.

This is a great book, the drawings are amazing and we are thrown into the imagination of a little boy! Not having read the previous installments in the series did not negatively affect our understanding or enjoyment of the book. It definitely wouldn't be enough if one is looking to have their child learn a second language, but it's still a great inclusion. Each page has a word in English that is highlighted, and in the illsutration on the page, the corresponding Chinese character is drawn.

I was going to hold this off until next year at New Years, but I needed some 2019 books for this month, so I’m using it.Written in rhyming text with adorable digitally painted artwork, a group of young children are chasing down a dragon.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. With that said, I did really enjoy most of the artwork and though the meter of the poetry is way off, it didn't bother me so much that it took too much away from the story. Salmieri’s artwork is fitting, with a crabbed, ethereal line work reminiscent of Peter Sís, but the story does not offer it enough range. I personally love the reference to Dragons Love Tacos when the main character mentions using rice to catch this dragon and not tacos. Andy began his career in illustration in 2003, after spending fifteen years working as a graphic designer in the computer games industry.

I really don't know how to feel about How to Catch a Dragon by Adam Wallace and illustrated by Andy Elkerton. Most purchases from business sellers are protected by the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 which give you the right to cancel the purchase within 14 days after the day you receive the item. I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.