Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon slays the sophomore slump

In a literary corner in the elementary book wing of life, Lola Dutch and Amy Wu are best friends, hang out together and do crafts. Lola Dutch is a ridiculously cute rhyming illustrated book about a young girl and the power of imagination. Amy Wu is the titular character in the series from Kat Zhang and Charlene Chua that is just as entertaining. However, Wu demos a little bit higher and shows aspects of Asian, specifically Chinese heritage in a way that’s fun, relatable, and educational for elementary-aged readers. Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon is the second book in the series and continues its broad appeal to young readers aged four and up.

Amy is a typical elementary school student. She loves story time and on this particular day, her class is learning about dragons. In her mind, she’s a dragon pro. Her family has an entire celebration around the mythical creature. Yet when Amy draws her dragon it’s entirely different and leaves her classmates questioning if her red creation is actually a dragon. Her dragon is long and thin, with talons that look like they belong more on a bird of prey than a fire-breathing castle monster.

She’s aware that her dragon is nothing like her friends. So she goes back to the drawing board and tries to create something more in line with what her friend’s dragons look like, but the class ran out of time for her to complete it. This completely bums Amy out. Thankfully, she and some friends are going to her grandmother’s house after school. Like all great grandmothers, she has a story about a dragon. This reminds Amy of the dragon costume in the attic that served as a reference for her depiction that she did in class.

Her friends are intoxicated by that dragon costume and want Amy to bring it to class. However, Amy wants to be her own person, so she enlists her family’s help to create a dragon costume that is hers. The result is a combination of her tradition, as well as, the European dragons that her friends are more familiar with.

The underlying feeling in Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon is being comfortable with who you are. Everyone is not the same and the grey squirrel is common to me, whereas the brown squirrel is what you’re used to. When I lived in Japan and traveled throughout Asia I remember seeing brown squirrels, instead of the common grey variety that I was used to seeing in North Carolina. That very simple, yet slightly alternative universe appearance of such a common critter was one of the most consistently bizarre things in exploring that area.

 With Amy Wu, it’s about finding her own self and being happy with that. Amu Wu and the Perfect Bao was about patience and creating the perfect dumpling, with a little help from grandma. Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon has more of an ensemble feeling as it brings some of her friends, as well as, her parents more into the story. The result of this is that it’s a more rounded book that will appeal to more young readers.

The text by Kat Zhang is concise and on par with most second graders being able to read most of the words themselves. There are a couple of three-syllable or silent letter words that they’ll need help with. Astute readers will also realize that the more challenging words like twinkle, enormous, and those context clues are bolded. We read to lots of kids who have trouble picking up on new words or might have difficulty finding their context. Zhang spoon feeds those young readers the opportunity to discover definitions without having to tag up to a parent or older sibling for help.

Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon is a great illustrated book. The artwork is bright, happy and provides a big canvas for Amy, her dragon, a couple of scenes of dragons from the east and west, her family and friends to take full advantage of. It’s as much a book about discovering and being comfortable with who you are as it is about being proud of your heritage or doing silly things with your family.

Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon is by Kat Zhang with illustrations by Charlene Chua and on Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

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