The mandarin needs a dragon to lead the emperor’s New Year’s parade. Mrs. Ming has seven dragons, but the only Silk Peony is able to parade. She has beautiful scales and many virtuous qualities, but she is a lady dragon and doesn’t have a beard to impress the emperor with her wisdom. The mandarin is mortified, and behaves quite rudely, but eventually agrees to hire Silk Peony.
Everyone, including the emperor, loves Silk Peony, and the parade is very successful. The mandarin doesn’t want to admit he was wrong and tries to cheat Mrs. Ming. Fortunately, she and Silk Peony have a plan.
This is a delightful book with eye catching illustrations for children to por over for hours. They, like the children in the story, will love Silk Peony for who she is. This is a fun way to introduce ancient Chinese culture and mythology to young readers and listeners, and could be used to spark interest in further study of Chinese dragons and new year’s traditions.
The Word Worker 