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Summary
Summary
Gondra, a little dragon with an Eastern dragon dad and a Western dragon mom, celebrates her uniqueness in this sparkling collaboration between Newbery medalist Linda Sue Park and artist Jennifer Black Reinhardt.
Gondra has inherited traits from both her eastern (Asian) dragon dad and western (European) dragon mom and enjoys them all.
She's especially happy that she's a combination of both. Cheerful banter and hilariously adorable dragon portrayals present a warm, appealing family portrait. The beautiful and fanciful illustrations are rich in whimsical details that invite repeated readings.
Author Notes
Linda Sue Park was born in Urbana, Illinois on March 25, 1960. She received a B.A. in English from Stanford University. After graduating, she worked as a public-relations writer for a major oil company for two years. She obtained advanced degrees in literature from Trinity College, Dublin in Ireland and from the University of London. Before becoming a full-time author, she held numerous jobs including working for an advertising agency, teaching English as a second language to college students, and working as a food journalist. Her first book, Seesaw Girl, was published in 1999. Her other books include The Kite Fighters, Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems), and A Single Shard, which won the 2002 Newbery Medal. She also wrote Storm Warning, which is the ninth book in the 39 Clues series. Her title A Long Walk to Water made the New York Times bestseller list.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Gondra is a little dragon whose father is from the East, where dragons are blue and green, breathe mist, and fly with magic. Her mother comes from the West, where dragons have bronze scales, breathe fire, and fly with wings. The parents engage in some friendly rivalry about their respective backgrounds: Mom thinks her husband's mist "seems... um... pretty boring"; Dad points out that he never complains about tired wings during a flight. But their mutual adoration of Gondra makes her proud to embody qualities from both of her parents-and confident that she'll grow up to be a dragon living on her own terms. Writing in the chatty voice of her protagonist, Park (Yaks Yak) captures the easygoing, day-to-day intimacy of a family animated and anchored by unconditional love. Some of the larger and more elaborate watercolor, ink, and collage drawings by Reinhardt (Sometimes You Fly) lack focus, but Gondra is wonderfully imagined: the epitome of "ugly-cute," she's bright-eyed, adventurous, resilient (flying is problematic right now, but she's certain she'll get the hang of it) and, in her red-striped footie pajamas, utterly huggable. Ages 4-7. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Gondra is a biracial (gender-unspecified) dragon, a mixture of both Eastern and Western dragon attributes. The little dragon explains and celebrates the ways it takes after each parent (Gondra can breathe fire and mist!). Reinhardt's watercolor, ink, and collage illustrations can be cluttered and overly decorative. Still, this is a well-meaning and otherwise effective story about combining traditions to create a new family. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
East meets West and they have a baby dragon in this fantasy from Newbery Medalist Park.With a father from the "East" and a mother from the "West," young dragon Gondra deftly narrates she was born "somewhere in the middle." Portrayed with zany proportions, including bulging eyes encircled with purple eyelids and red tendrils sprouting from her ears, nose, chin, and tail, Gondra carries her stuffed cow in tow as she quizzes her parents on the range of abilities between them. "Both of my parents can fly. Mom has wings. Dad uses magic." Bantering back and forth, each parent describes the differences of their traits. Dad has an elongated wingless body in line with Asian dragons, while Mom follows the European style with wings and a shorter body. Gondra is then left to examine her own characteristics, wondering exactly where she stands in the family and how that differs from history. When she asks about dragon treasure, both parents lovingly remind her of her own intrinsic value. Park lightly touches on themes of interracial families, with the dragon folklore occupying the foreground. Reinhardt is bold in her choices of watercolors, pairing them with busy textures to bring a quirky flair to the tale and including humorous details to complement the narration.While it's not a profound look at mixed-race identity, it is a playful one, and readers will enjoy the cultural examination of dragons. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gondra, a young dragon, has a mother who hails from the West and a father who comes from the East. She is proud to come from such diverse cultures. As she grows, she shows signs of having inherited both her mother's ability to breathe fire and her father's ability to breathe mist. The youngster narrates the tale and relays her parents' gentle teasing as they debate why one type of dragon is superior to the other. Gondra enjoys listening to their stories: her mother's ancestors fought humans who wanted to steal their treasure hoards, while her father's forebears had magic that could be used for good or evil. Full-color illustrations in ink, watercolor, and collage vary in size, from vignettes to single- and double-page spreads, and depict Gondra with the physical traits of both parents. An author's note explains different cultural origins of the dragon myth, and why, for centuries, humans have been fascinated by them. This allegorical adventure will entice a whole new crop.--Maryann Owen Copyright 2019 Booklist