The Mystery of Dragon Bridge: A Peach Blossom Village Story

Gr 2–5—An old stone bridge connects the small village of Peach Blossom with the outside world. When the villagers awake and find it missing, Master Chen investigates, only to realize that the bridge was a sleeping dragon who was so neglected by the villagers that he grew ill and had to fly away. Master Chen then comes up with a way for the village to apologize to the dragon and get a new bridge. Written in English and Simplified Chinese characters, this straightforward original tale features a dozen full-color water color illustrations, five of which occupy entire page spreads. Additionally, there are smaller black-and-white sketches interspersed with the text. While the trim size and page count suggests a picture book, there are several text-only page spreads, making this title better suited for independent reading or one-on-one sharing. A match for fans of longer illustrated folktales and fairy tales who are looking for something new.—Jennifer Rothschild, Arlington County Public Libraries, VA