Reviews: (by author)

Marsden, Carolyn and Virginia Shin-Mui Loh. The Jade Dragon. Boston : Candlewick, 2006. $15.99. ISBN 0-7636-3012-8. Ages 7-10.

If you remember childhood as entirely sweetness and light, this fine book will remind you of the pressures children can feel, even children born into close and loving families, like young Ginny. Her parents are Chinese-born; she's Asian American and thus negotiates her family heritage along with the natural desire to be accepted at school. More even than that: Ginny needs a best friend, so when a Chinese girl like her shows up in class, she assumes they'll become pals. But the other girl, Stephanie, isn't Chinese the same way Ginny is. Stephanie's parents are American and she's adopted. Her family life is all American and she's uninterested, even resistant, to things Chinese.

How to make friends? Ginny gives too much-she lets Stephanie take a jade dragon of special meaning to Ginny's family. Getting it back and keeping Stephanie as a friend, even changing her a bit, is the subject of the book's powerful second half. The relationship between Ginny and her traditional mother is especially moving as the authors depict the young girl's emotions. With sensitivity, through portraying very genuine situations (Loh was an elementary school teacher for years), Marsden and Loh give a needed voice to the Asian-American experience in this country. Add the enjoyable detail about Chinese holidays, banquets, clothes, and culture to make an important and memorable book.

A. Allison, October 2006

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