Product Description

A Chinese American girl provides rhyming descriptions of the great variety of colors she sees around her, from the red of a dragon, firecrackers, and lychees to the brown of her teddy bear.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #758126 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The gentle primer Red Is a Dragon by Roseanne Thong, illus. by Grace Lin, does for colors what their Round Is a Mooncake did for shapes, in a felicitous meeting between East and West. The girl who narrated the previous book here serves as tour guide through 10 hues, each of which dominates a spread redolent with the saturated colors and intricate patterns of Chinese textiles and paintings.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
reS-K-A beautiful Chinese dragon in several shades of red writhes across a double-page spread, accompanied by children carrying drums, cymbals, and strings of firecrackers-a fitting start for a concept book about colors. Although many of the objects portrayed are Asian in origin, such as lychees, incense sticks in a pot, and a jade bracelet, most are universal. The attractive illustrations use large areas of vibrant colors overlaid by varied patterns in the same colors. The text in rhyming couplets is less successful; at times the need for a rhyme sometimes outweighs the regard for exact description. Quibbles aside, concept books are always needed and this one offers a peek at Chinese-American culture.

Marian Drabkin, formerly at Richmond Public Library, CA

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 4-7. The creators of Mooncake: A Book of Shapes (2000) offer a companion devoted to colors. Using rhymed verse, a young Chinese American girl introduces onlookers to some of the elements of her world. Many of the items mentioned are of Asian origin (for example, red dragons and firecrackers seen in Chinese New Year parades), but almost all the objects have a universal child appeal. Less familiar items, such as bottle gourds, chopsticks, and lychee fruits, are explained at the end of the book. Lin's simply drawn gouache illustrations, outlined in black, fairly explode with color, and Lin never lets a solid color serve where a pattern (many depicting Asian motifs) can be used. Although some spreads feature as many as 10 different patterns, they never appear cluttered, and the dominant hue is always clear. The endpapers, stripes of multihued dragon scales, are an attractive bonus. This is a must-have for libraries serving Chinese American populations, and it will be a welcome addition to preschool story hours for children of all backgrounds. Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

a bright and colorful world
Illustrator Grace Lin's use of color and curly cue backgrounds are more than half the reason to buy this book. In short verse, the reader and female protagonist is introduced to very bright colors and a red dragon and firecrackers, red melons and lychees on green backgrounds, orange crabs on the sand in your hand, yellow incense sticks and taxis, green gourds and toads, green jade that mom and daughter share, blue sneakers, purple kites, pink peonies, and white dumplings to share with a brother. What colors surround you?? A glossary of ten words closes the book.

A wide range of ages can appreciate this one
Not just a book about colors. It's lovely to see Asian & American people and items intermixed esp. if you &/or your child are a minority where you live. But this is a book for *everyone*, read out-loud or read-to. Personally, I prefer the celebration pictures & parades more than the simple ones at the beach, and I still prefer their 'Round is a mooncake' but this book has grown on me.

Wonderul for those of us who have children from China
Although my daughter was born in China and now living here in the US. I want her to know her heritage. Grace Lin and Roseanne Thong have created many terrific books that let me share with my daughter about Asian families and how they celebrate and most importantly how color plays such a vital role in the Asians eyes and lifestyles.

I love that Grace lin included dragon dancing and put feet under it for your child to see. I am trying to show my daughter that the Dragons used in Dragon Dances for the Chinese New Year is not a "live" dragon, but that there are many people or one person underneath and that they are wearing a dragon costume. Just like my daughter wheres a costume at Halloween. And then maybe this year she won't cry... or maybe not as much... she's only 2 1/2 years old.

I love that the book introduces us to the Chinese culture and how they eat different foods and instead of using forks, knives and spoons they use chopsticks! I love that one of the last lines in the book prompts your child to see what colors are around them, be it in their homes, backyards and else where. I also love that there are definations of certain words that we might be unfamiliar with. No matter if you live in America, Australia, Canada or Neatherlands or anywhere that Asains have found a place to call home, this book will help you open your child & families lives & eyed to how Asians live.

There are may terrific books by Grace Lin and Toseanne Thong, here's to many, many more books to come in the future!!!!!