The boy overhears his mother saying that a dragon would bring health and fortune, so he sets out with a group of friends to capture a dragon. This fun book will take you on a chase through a beautifully illustrated cultural holiday, leaving hints of popular traditions and decorations as the group of diverse friends follow a long red dragon tail through town, attempting to catch it at every turn. There are also symbols on the banners throughout the story and if you don't know any Mandarin at all, you don't get to know what it says, which is a little disappointing for someone like me who is fascinated by languages. Among the Chinese-style architecture of the town buildings, they employ various fantastical lures related to Chinese culture to catch it, including a web of noodles and sticky rice, a giant red lantern, gold coins, and a dragon dance.

Set in China during the Spring Festival, otherwise known as Chinese New Year, the wily dragon will have to avoid trap after trap as the kids run through paper lanterns, red envelopes, fireworks, and more! I really enjoyed this one in particular because it talks about the Chinese New Year, as well as the Chinese culture in general.From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling How to Catch series--do you have what it takes to snag a dragon? Though he’s afraid, he stands tall and is brave (not just once, either—the escape hatch beckons, but NASA’s saying gets him through: “FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION”). When Albie visits the library to find a book about dragons, he certainly doesn’t expect to meet a real knight and his horse! The kids can join in with parts once it’s been read before and can add lots of extra ideas using the illustrations!

And I get that perhaps not all children's books have to make sense, but there are certain things about this book that give me pause.Most purchases from business sellers are protected by the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 which give you the right to cancel the purchase within 14 days after the day you receive the item.

Ultimately, despite the protagonist’s failure to catch the dragon, it is being within the embrace of a loving family (depicted as a mother and a grandmother) that is the luckiest of all. I also like that this story deals with an ethnic holiday (Chinese New Year) and that the characters in the story were all nationalities. How to Catch a Dragon opens with a boy, his mother, and his grandmother preparing for Chinese New Year.On liftoff day (a space shuttle–themed calendar counts down the days; a stopwatch, the minutes), the small family boards their rocket ship (depicted in the illustrations as the family car), and “the boosters fire. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling How to Catch series and The Holiday Heroes Save Christmas. I personally love the reference to Dragons Love Tacos when the main character mentions using rice to catch this dragon and not tacos. Parents will certainly chuckle along with this one, but kindergarten teachers’ stomach muscles will ache: “[G]ravity works differently here. If you know a little one who is looking for a bilingual tale or is bored of the same old Chinese New Year tales, give this one a shot.

This would be a very nice addition to any storytime selection of books, and most definitely to a library's collection. However, as we read through it it soon became clear that it isn't quite up to the same brilliant standard of How To Grow A Dinosaur and Supermarket Zoo.

Not having read the previous installments in the series did not negatively affect our understanding or enjoyment of the book. My beautiful, precocious, literature loving daughter and I read this together and are reviewing it in 2 parts.