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The Beat of the Dragon Boat

A young boy learns about the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival from his grandfather when he attends his first dragon boat race.

The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival takes place on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, ushering in the start of summer. On the night before the Dragon Boat Festival, a young boy asks his grandfather how the dragon boat races first began. His grandfather tells him that legend has it that the races started in the ancient time of the Dragon King, when every lake and river had a guardian dragon. Dragons symbolize good luck, and have great power, especially over water and weather.

On race day at the harbor, all the boats have a carved dragon head on their bows. As a final touch, to wake up their team’s boat, the boy paints in the dragon’s eye. But once the race is underway, their team’s dragon boat is in last place. How can they wake their dragon?

Format List Price Your Price Qty
On pre-order until 04/01/2025 $18.99 $18.99
Interest Level Kindergarten - Grade 3
Reading Level Grade 1
Dewey
Lexile
ATOS Reading Level
Guided Reading Level
Language English
Publisher Sleeping Bear Press
Available Formats Hardcover (9781534113206), PDF (9781668955895), ePub (9781668955383), Hosted ebook (9781668955550), Kindle (9781668955727)
Copyright 2025
Number of Pages 32
Dimensions 11 x 9
Graphics Full-color illustrations

Author: Christina Matula

Christina Matula grew up in Ottawa, Canada. Being a child of immigrant parents, she has always been curious about other cultures and far-off places. Dumplings are her favourite food, especially her mother’s savoury Taiwanese jiaozi and her father’s sweet Hungarian gomboc. She is also the author of The Shadow in the Moon, Mixed-Up Mooncakes, and the Holly-Mei middle-grade series. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Hong Kong and now lives in Finland.

Illustrator: Nicole Wong

Nicole Wong has lived her whole life in Fall River, Massachusetts, walking along downtown streets where once a river and eight waterfalls flowed, all demolished and replaced by an interstate highway. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, Nicole has illustrated more than twenty-five books for children, including Kiyoshi’s Walk, Diving Deep, Three Lost Seeds, I'll Be the Water, and No Year of the Cat. She lives with her husband, their daughter, and their pets.

Original artwork
Full-color illustrations