The Last Dragon

by Susan Miho Nunes, Chris K. Soentpiet (Illustrations)

An old ten-man dragon in a Chinatown shop window turns Peter Chang's summer visit to Great Aunt, which he had been dreading, into an exciting adventure. The Last Dragon's silk is faded and torn, and its eyes are gone, but Peter finds people willing to help restore the dragon to life-Great Aunt's mahjongg friends, a tailor, a kite maker, a street artist-and learns his way around the neighborhood at the same time. The banquet that honors the dragon's return to its full glory and marks the end of Peter's visit is also a celebration of Chinatown's unique culture. Chris K. Soentpiet's exquisitely detailed watercolor paintings are filled with the energy and color of the busy streets and shops of Chinatown.

Genres: Picture Books, School, Fiction, Cultural

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 24, 1995

Reviews

[Tara Mensing · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a boy who visits his mother's old aunt, who lives in Chinatown. The boy spends the summer with her and though he didn't want to go at first, it doesn't take long for him to start enjoying his stay and eventually decides he finds that he doesn't want to leave.
It's interesting to point out that the Grandmother didn't like the dragon the boy got from the store at first but her perspective changes as well just like the boy's perspective changed as well.
This would be a great book to teach the moral of "don't judge a book by its cover." This would also be a nice segue in explaining the importance of dragons in the Chinese culture.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book by Susan Miho Nunes about a young boy who is sent to live with his great aunt in Chinatown for the summer. He misses his parents and his friends and is sad until he sees an old ratty dragon in a shop window and he decides he must have it; his great aunt buys it for him. He spends the summer befriending various people in the neighborhood who help him fix and repair the old ratty dragon to its former magnificent shape. The boy's summer with his great aunt is one that he will never forget because of the kindness of the people who helped him.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it too frustrating not to be able to make out the dragon in the blotch of faded colors. I mean, I get it, the point is that it takes a neighborhood to turn such a large bundle of trash into such an important treasure. But the boy saw the dragon right away, even covered in cobwebs... Ah well. I also am not comfortable with the jumpiness of the story; it seemed like I was continually missing paragraphs or pages. Again, that was intentional, to keep the concise focus on the boy and the dragon, and to let the art tell part of the story, but I just kept getting confused/ frustrated.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reader learns a bit about Chinatown as they follow Peter's story of visiting different shops to get various parts of his giant dragon puppet repaired. This is the large sort of Chinese dragons that are paraded around on the streets during a festival, with several people holding up the head, body and tail. In fact, Peter's aunt called it a ten-man dragon. Soentpiet's watercolor illustrations capture the sights and cultural uniqueness of this Chinatown. However, the book never says in which city this particular Chinatown is located.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book.

[Cris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming story. The illustrations are lovely and evocative.

[Hector Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book teaches children about exploring there own culture and giving it a shot instead of ignoring it. I would use this book when transitioning into a new unit of study or if I want my students to be more receptive to new cultures. This book also shows a sense of self pride that all students should have about their own culture

[Jeanene Nickerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book with some good imagery. The story is about a boy who learns more about his culture. This would be a good story to read around the Chinese New Year to introduce a lesson about the importance of the dragon to Chinese culture.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the illustrations and the story, but the writing felt really chopped up and didn't really flow for me.

[Daniel]

Long read aloud about a boy who connects with his great aunt. Community comes together to help the boy refurbish a dragon.

[FlasoFlaso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mom checked this book out at the library. I started reading it a few different times, but never read through to the end.

[Marie Summers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet and satisfying. I wish that this were the way life really is.

[Maria Pelayo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great cultural book. It is fiction, but the cultural aspect is pretty accurate. You can use this book to build a community of cultural acceptance. I would say this book to be in a 3rd-5th grade classroom library.