Characters from the Year of the Dragon
YEAR OF THE DRAGON
Chin, Oliver. The Year of the Dragon, Tales of the Chinese Zodiac. San Francisco, CA: Immedium, 2012
In a mountainous cave, two dragons tended their first egg. Slowly, it began to crack until a baby dragon emerged. The parents named him Dominic and introduced him to the Emperor and the Empress and their court.
“Remember,” they told him, “dragons are special.”
Dragons could do things others couldn’t: play ping-pong, pick oranges and roast marshmallows.
One day, Bo invited Dominic to his swimming party. Across the river, a team of villagers were practicing for the big boat race. No one wanted to teach Dom, Bo and their friends how to row but the kind Emperor lent them his spare canoe.
The friends tipped it over on their first try. Everyone along the river watched and laughed at them. Undaunted, Dom had an idea.
Dom turned himself into a dragon boat and the friends practiced diligently.
Finally, the day of the festival arrived. Dom and his friends were ready for the race. Dom made himself straighter than an arrow, making them faster than all the other boats except the Imperial boat. One last push and Dom and his friends surged through the Dragon Gate.
The race was close. Who won? The judges decided that Dom and his friends won by a nose!
Shadow Theater made of recycled materials
Shadow Puppets:
Emperor
Empress
Dominic the dragon
Bo, a boy
friends
judges
Act out The Year of the Dragon. What other races can Dom, Bo and their friends compete and win? Do they prove that dragons are really special?
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