The Dragon's Egg

Jean Free is a retired teacher-librarian and library consultant in
Whitby, Ontario.

Ai Lien Fong is a 9-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl living in downtown
Toronto. At her new school, racial and social problems and a class bully
provide a series of misadventures that leave Ai Lien alone and confused.
One day her father gives her a smooth grey stone that he picked up along
the Yangtze River in China. The stone turns out to be magical, and when
a tiny red-and-gold dragon hatches from it, an adventure begins that
will change Ai Lien’s life.

The magic is believable in this imaginative story about human
relationships, secret friends, and responsibility to others. The story
is also about the need to understand ethnic cultural differences, and
the author includes interesting information about Chinese-Canadian
culture—its customs (Kitchen God and Chinese New Year celebrations),
unique food, and extended-family tradition.

Frances Tyrrell’s detailed and fanciful illustrations enrich the
story and add interest for young readers. Recommended.