The Truth About Dragons by Julie Leung

The Truth About Dragons

By Julie Leung, illustrated by Hanna Cha

Caldecott Honor 2024

Ages 4+, grades PK+

Through a bedtime story, a mother guides her child on an adventure to find the magic inside him by seeking out the truth about dragons. She incorporates his two grandmothers and two different cultural interpretations of dragon mythology into the story, and in doing so encourages him to embrace his dual heritage.

Justification

My kids and I jointly chose this book from the Caldecott Honor list, largely because of their shared fixation with dragons. The front cover art is very appealing and it is easy for an adult to surmise from the illustration of two very different dragons that the story likely includes some celebration of culture. As a mom of two very white kids, I gravitate toward books that allow them to explore or share in other cultures in meaningful and beautiful ways. This book continues to appeal to all three of us several weeks into its loan period for its content and illustrations.

Content

While Julie Leung’s text isn’t labeled as poetry, there is a definite rhythm to it that makes reading it aloud very fun. The mother tells the story in second person to her child, which reminds me of how a tabletop roleplaying gamemaster narrates the players’ adventure. The language is flowery and descriptive, appropriate for the mythical nature of the adventure while still being accessible enough to even my three-year-old for her to enjoy it. Leung’s prose appeals to every sense as she chronicles the child’s journey; dried oak leaves crunch underfoot, honey-colored sunlight trickles through the leaves, and the scents of cedar chests and sugar cookies mark the young hero’s first stop. The latter half of his journey is then characterized by the sticky mist, the chirrup of crickets, and the smells of incense and jasmine rice. The audience can’t help but be drawn into the worlds she so vividly portrays.

Illustrations

If Leung’s words paint their own pictures, Hanna Cha’s illustrations tell their own stories in perfect tandem. Soft washes of vibrant color bring a sense of liveliness and movement to her lavish and highly detailed illustrations. Cha shifts her illustration style midway through the story as the child moves from the first forest– one filled with mossy bridges, will-o’-the-wisps, and a cottage in a bog–  to the next leg of their adventure in a forest of bamboo– cool and airy, with misty rivers, nine-tailed foxes, and a pagoda-shaped palace. This shift isn’t jarring at all; it took me many close read-throughs to realize what made the two parts of the story feel so different, yet not totally removed from one another. It appears that she switches ink mediums from a fine nib to a softer calligraphy pen at this important transition point in the story, but continues with the soft washes of color that let each image glow.

It is only at the very end of the story that both the words and illustrations clarify that this is a cultural journey for the child. If a reader pays close attention, they will notice that a brooch and a bracelet worn by each of the two wise women– one from the cottage, the other from the palace– have found their way to the child’s nightstand next to their framed photo as the text reads:

“This is the precious secret:

Inside your heart is where

The two forests meet.

Both journeys are yours to take.

Both worlds are yours to discover.”

Leung, J. (2023). The truth about dragons (H. Cha, Illus.). Henry Holt.