Dragon's Dilemma

Written by Catherine Little

Illustrated by Sae Kimura

Plumleaf Press

978-1-73889826-8

32 pp.

Ages 5–10

December 2023

 

When Catherine Little told us of the Emperor's Great Race, a story often told to children for the Lunar New Year, in Twelve in a Race (2022), we learned that there were twelve animals whose positions lead to the Chinese Zodiac: a pig, a dog, a rooster, a monkey, a goat, a horse, a snake, a dragon, a rabbit, a tiger, an ox and a rat.  This is the dragon's story.

From Dragon's Dilemma, written by Catherine Little, illustrated by Sae Kimura

Seeing his competition, Dragon comes into the race convinced that he would win.

I am by far the biggest, by far the fastest, 

and I am the only one who can fly! (p. 13)

As the emperor  begins the race, the dragon takes to the skies and surveys his competition, seeing who is faster and slower, and all the while assured of his victory. So, while the other animals raced along the ground, Dragon decides he has no need to rush and would take in the sights of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World: the Grand Canyon, Parícutin Volcano, Guanabara Bay, the Northern Lights, Victoria Falls, Mount Everest, and the Great Barrier Reef.

From Dragon's Dilemma, written by Catherine Little, illustrated by Sae Kimura

From his final stop on Mount Everest, Dragon spots the animals in the final leg of the race and prepares to swoop in to victory. But, as he passes over the parched mountainsides and dried rice fields, he is spotted by villagers who are sure the dragon has arrived to help them out, because "We Dragons are kind, and we try to help when we can." (p. 24) And even though he intends to help after the race, children singing a song to praise him compels him to deliver, via many trips, water from the river to their parched lands.

From Dragon's Dilemma, written by Catherine Little, illustrated by Sae Kimura

Resuming the race, he is moved to see Rabbit struggling and blows him across the finish line before taking his own place, coming in fifth. Though disappointed in his showing in the race, Dragon can still recall the impact of his good deed and the appreciation of the villagers.

From Dragon's Dilemma, written by Catherine Little, illustrated by Sae Kimura

Though many Asian-Canadians will know the story of the Emperor's Great Race and the Chinese Zodiac, it was a new one to me. The story of how the animals' behaviours impacted their placement (see Twelve in a Race) is riveting and learning more details of Dragon's race result is all the more compelling. He may have been disappointed by his fifth-place result but for young readers there is far more to the story. Catherine Little not only introduces the Seven Natural Wonders of the World to readers but she teaches the decency of benevolence and compassion. Dragon is initially quite confident, even overly assured of his success. He could have swooped in and won the race handily. However, he was able to put aside his hubris and do good, even at a cost for himself. And that good will would sustain him, as it often does all of us, through a time of disappointment.

 

Dragon's Dilemma is Catherine Little's second collaboration with illustrator Sae Kimura, a Japanese-born, Toronto-residing multidisciplinary artist who creates stories with acrylic gouache, pencil crayons or watercolour, as well as puppets and silkscreen (Check out her website at https://www.esalalamu.com/ for a more complete bio.) While keeping the realism of the animals and known landmarks, Sae Kimura introduces fantastical elements that give her illustrations a dream-like quality. Her dragon is exotic in colours and form, and her landscapes, from pink-tinged clouds and textured lands, are wonderfully evocative of a different and unreal time. 

 

The Lunar New Year on February 10, 2024 will herald the Year of the Dragon so the Dragon's Dilemma, as well as Twelve in a Race, will be perfect accompaniments for the festivities whether at home, at school, or in the community. And take a lesson from Dragon that, given the choice of selfish achievement or benevolent charity, compassion should always lead.

Twelve in a Race

Written by Catherine Little

Illustrated by Sae Kimura

Plumleaf Press

978-1-486936687

38 pp.

Ages 3-12

March 2022

 

I know many of us our preparing for our holiday celebrations and that those celebrations will take many forms. One celebration that will be observed very soon will be the Lunar New Year which will take place on January 22, 2023. Twelve in a Race may have come out earlier in 2022 but reviewing it now seems a perfect opportunity to get it some deserved attention before the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations.

From Twelve in a Race by Catherine Little, illus. by Sae Kimura

The theme of Catherine Little's Twelve in a Race is the origin story of the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac as they participated in a race set by the emperor.

Some started fast,

others were slow.

Courage and wits

were tested from "Go!" 

Along raging rivers,

over mountains and dunes,

The animals ran for

many moons.

From Twelve in a Race by Catherine Little, illus. by Sae Kimura

As the animals race, their attributes–and those we associate with the different years of the Zodiac–impact their standing in the competition. Rat is persuasive and smart, Horse is cheerful, independent, and quick, and Monkey is agile and clever. For each, Catherine Little gives positive attributes and follows the correct order of the Chinese Zodiac as the myth prescribes. It's charming and informative and I suspect every child will be looking up their sign. (A zodiac appends the story with years from 1996 through 2031 so children and young adults and even future kids are covered. Oldies such as myself probably already know our signs–I was born in Year of the Pig–or can look them up online.)

 

Toronto's Sae Kimura gives us illustrations that take us to a Chinese countryside of luscious, stylized plants and water. The landscape components are shaped with softness and give further movement to the racers. Even the clouds float with purpose and delicacy in the bright sky. Though I don't know why, I think Sae Kimura's Japanese heritage–she was born in Odawara, Japan–contributes to the tradition of the story of Twelve in a Race. She instills a traditional majesty to her characters and an art deco essence to her borders of meandering geometric shapes.

From Twelve in a Race by Catherine Little, illus. by Sae Kimura

Toronto author Catherine Little tells me that she wrote Twelve in a Race to help her biracial son learn about the Chinese side of his heritage that didn’t portray Chinese culture as “foreign” and I believe that she has succeeded in doing so. The story honours the myth of the zodiac and makes it accessible for all children to learn a traditional story while finding themselves in it. Knowing your zodiac sign is just the beginning.