Dragon Child

Ut, a Vietnamese girl attending school in the United States, lonely for her mother left behind in Vietnam, makes a new friend who presents her with a wonderful gift.

Dando, a young dragon who cannot fly, is captured by dangerous humans, but a kind slave-girl, an orphaned bird, and the melancholy son of the dragon's captors help him escape his imprisonment and learn to fly.

The Dragon Child introduces Zax, a lovable dragon with a big problem?he can't breathe fire. Zax desperately wants to be a Firestarter; however, unless he can light the Dragolympics candle, Zax will not be chosen. Will Zax be able to do it? *puzzle included

The Dragon Child is an adventure/fantasy tale following Dragon, who is a half human and half dragon, born from an ancient magic brought forth by his parents’ love. His father is human, and his dragon mother is the queen of the dragon empire. When they pass, Dragon inherits the throne, as well as a world full of troubles. Dragon's world is turned upside down as he travels with a small band of companions and he finds himself fighting battles that he does not want to be a part of. When everything around him falls apart, he is torn inside by his race and identity. He is not sure whether he should save the humans or save the dragons. As he is forced to make choices, Dragon learns about himself and the races that he is a part of, and in doing so, he becomes who he has always been destined by the Creator to be.

A Dragon Child: Reflections of a Daughter of Annam in America is the story of a Vietnamese Catholic raised within the structure of the French colonial system. Her upbringing was somewhat privileged as the daughter of a provincial administrator in the central highlands of Vietnam. As a child, and later as a young woman, she embraced French culture and aspired to French ideals. She was educated at a French boarding school for the children of the elite. Subsequently she received a degree in French teaching from the University of Saigon and became a lycee teacher and administrator. In 1975, she left on one of the last military planes accompanied by her four children and entered a new life as a refugee in the U.S. She ultimately resettled in Western Massachusetts. She then went back to school and obtained her Ph.D. in Francophone literature. After seeing to her children's education she began her academic career and started to teach French in the Five College academic community. She has fulfilled the "American dream" as have her children. In the process she has rediscovered her cultural roots and has helped others to negotiate the same path.

Originally published: Great Britain: Headline Review, 2009.

Did you want to go to America? Pop: Sure. I didn't have a choice. My father said I had to go. So I went. Were you sad when you left your village? Pop: Maybe a little . . . well, maybe a lot. Ten-year-old Gim Lew Yep knows that he must leave his home in China and travel to America with the father who is a stranger to him. Gim Lew doesn't want to leave behind everything that he's ever known. But he is even more scared of disappointing his father. He uses his left hand, rather than the "correct" right hand; he stutters; and most of all, he worries about not passing the strict immigration test administered at Angel Island. The Dragon's Child is a touching portrait of a father and son and their unforgettable journey from China to the land of the Golden Mountain. It is based on actual conversations between two-time Newbery Honor author Laurence Yep and his father and on research on his family's immigration history by his niece, Dr. Kathleen S. Yep.

The third DragonChild adventure. Tia is determined to retrieve the DragonQueen's six stolen Jewels of Power from the High Witches. She has the emerald that lets her speak to animals and the opal that lets her change shape. Now she goes after the weather-altering magical topaz. But the High Witches have realised that they are under attack, and the High Witch Luona, in her icebound fastness, will not let the topaz go without a fight. Can Tia and her DragonBrother Finn continue their quest now the powerful witches are on the alert?