The Asian Reporter's
BOOK REVIEWS

By Adam Wallace

Illustrations by Andy Elkerton

Sourcebooks Wonderland, 2019

Hardcover, 40 pages, $10.99

By Jody Lim

The Asian Reporter

How to Catch a Dragon is aimed at children age four and older. I’d never heard of the book before, or the series of which it is a part, but my three-and-a-half-year-old nephew thoroughly enjoyed it.

While a family and members of a community in China prepare for the Lunar New Year, several elements of the annual celebration are introduced — paper lanterns, red envelopes, noodles, sticky rice, fireworks, and more.

The children try to catch the clever dragon, with its "real red DRAGON’S TAIL!" The wily creature, however, manages to get away from several traps they set.

Do the children in the book ultimately catch the dragon? You’ll have to look through the beautiful drawings and read the lyrical prose to find out.

In two readings (so far) of How to Catch a Dragon, my little nephew was amazed by the numerous colorful items throughout the book and pointed out many interesting details — "He is cleaning," "there’s only one chopstick," "gold money," "dragon dance," "that stick broke," "little dragon," "fireworks — cool," and more.

How to Catch a Dragon is part of the popular series that includes How to Catch a Unicorn, How to Catch a Snowman, How to Catch a Dinosaur, and others. After reading this book, my nephew and I are intrigued. We plan to read more of them.