Nian, The Chinese New Year Dragon

Summary of Book

Award Mei hates springtime. Why? Because it's only in the spring that Nian, a fierce dragon, is able to leave his mountain prison under the sea to terrorize the local village. When the villagers hear the rumblings of Nian's hungry stomach, they know that winter has ended and spring is coming. But this year on the night before the first day of spring, a magical warrior visits Mei in her dreams. He tells Mei that it is her destiny to face and defeat Nian. But she must do it within 15 days or the dragon will be free forever. Author Virginia Loh-Hagan (PoPo's Lucky Chinese New Year) gives this retelling of the Nian legend an original twist, while explaining the origins of Chinese New Year traditions.

Author Biography

Virginia Loh-Hagan was born in the luckiest of all years, the Year of the Dragon. She's an author, university professor, curriculum designer, and former elementary school teacher. She was inspired to write this story after doing author visits. Her young audiences wanted to know more about Chinese New Year!

Illustrator Biography

Timothy Banks is an award-winning artist and illustrator from Charleston, South Carolina. He's created character designs for Nike, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network; quirky covers for Paste magazine; and lots of children's books with titles like There's A Norseman in My Classroom and The Frankenstein Journals. Also he's had the honor to be featured in Lurzer's Archive's "200 Best Illustrators Worldwide," and his work has been shown at Gallery Nucleus LA. He also recently wrote and illustrated a monster book opus for his hometown entitled Monsters in Charleston. You can find him most days painting and watching alligators swim by in his backyard.