Dragon’s Dilemma

As a companion to Twelve in a Race, Dragon's Dilemma by Catherine Little and Sae Kimura is a story that takes the brilliant story and learning from the first book and creates a more elaborate story for older readers about one animal in the zodiac…dragon.

Dragon is quite confident that he will win the Emperor's Great Race. After all they declare “I am by far the biggest, by far the fastest, and the only one who can fly!” Near the end of the race Dragon is faced with a problem, to help the villagers and their drought stricken land or win the race. What will Dragon choose?

In this book, Catherine Little chooses to use prose instead of rhyme which I very much appreciated. Dragon’s Dilemma is a story that can grow with the reader as they start to look for more interesting information about the Great Race. I really loved how Dragon kept reminding the reader of his greatness so at first, if you didn’t already know how Dragon fared in the race, you might think this boastful Dragon is either going to win or come dead last, a la Tortoise and the Hare. I loved that this story introduces the idea of community care and begs the question, Did Dragon choose the right thing? There is a lot of readers to reflect upon in this story and discuss.

I really like how Catherine Little introduces the Seven Natural Wonders of the World in this story. It’s something that I know readers love to discover and learn more about. This story is a vehicle to pique their interest and perhaps learn more about these phenomena. Also, the backmatter is once again brilliant. I love that readers get a better understanding about the differences between Chinese Dragons and Western Dragons.

Sae Kimura’s illustrations are bright and vibrant. She fills each page with colour and joy making it a book that readers will return to often.