This is an exciting story about a boy and a dragon set in China long ago. Chang and his father live in a small village. Chang's father is a kite maker and Chang spends long days helping him. In the evenings with the rest of the villagers they gather to hear the storyteller's amazing tales. Their favourites are about the legendary dragons of long ago. Chang especially likes these dragons and he begs his father to make him a dragon kite. Once the beautiful kite is ready, Chang goes to test it out. But the wind rips the kite out of his hands. In despair, Chang follows the kite up the mountain and into the deep dark bowels of the volcano. Here, he comes across one of the dragons from the old stories and the two of them become friends. At the end of the book, there is useful and interesting information about Chinese New Year and how it is celebrated around the world. Dragons are paraded in the streets at this time. A gripping text, with rich illustrations makes this suitable for children ready to "read alone" as well as to share with younger children at home or in the classroom. It is a wonderful adventure with mythical dragons. It features easy to read text, widely spaced and interspersed with illustrations. It provides information about Chinese New Year celebrations worldwide.

 

There are 32 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2007 by Random House Children's Publishers UK .

Kenneth Steven lives in Dunkeld in Perthshire. He is a highly successful broadcaster, featuring regularly on national radio. His BBC Radio 4 documentary on the island of St Kilda won him a prestigious Sony Award.