DragonsPearlThe Dragon’s Pearl, by Julie Lawson, Illustrated by Paul Morin • Clarion Books, 1993.

Xiao Sheng is a happy child, one who sings as he works and enjoys his life, even though he and his mother barely earn enough to get by.

One day, in the midst of a horrible drought, Xiao Sheng finds a verdant patch of rich, green grass. He cuts the patch and sells it in the village, only to return the next day and discover that all the grass has grown back.

What follows is a wonderful tale of myth-logic, where treasures are gained, and deserved, only to be threatened by the jealousy of a rotten few. Eventually, Xiao Sheng must take unexpected and drastic action to save his mother and his village.

I don’t want to give too much of the story away, as it is well and richly told, with illustrations by Paul Morin (who also illustrated Tololwa Mollel’s The Orphan Boy, which I just read for class). I loved the story’s kindness; except for a few clear villains, the characters are good people. Xiao Sheng and his mother are kind and uncorrupted by their good fortune, and the villagers are “not angry or jealous” of their wealth. Maybe I’m just a delicate flower, but I liked reading a story that, though it contained conflicts and trails, generally showed the world to be a nice place.

This is a picture story, and as such could be enjoyed by children as young a six (though there are some difficult words, and this may be one of those read-with-or-aloud-type books). Older children with an interest in China, mythology or (spoiler alert) dragons should also enjoy the story. There’s even a short “word about dragons” in the back of the book, which explains the role dragons play in Chinese mythology, and how it differs from dragons’ role in European myths. I could see this serving as a well-loved story, or as part of a larger lesson plan.