Dragon on the Loose

Dragon on the Loose is a fast-paced, adventure-filled story that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. Hailey and Kyle, two friends who’ve accidentally wished a dragon named Zhu to appear from The Middle Kingdom, are trying to help Zhu return home, but they continue to run into obstacles. In just 90 pages, Marty Chan manages to vividly paint scenes (Zhu transforming), touch on several themes (Hailey’s relationship with her grandfather), connect two cultures, and teach children to problem-solve. The trio’s running into so many deterrents and being forced to come up with creative solutions quickly encourages children to problem-solve under pressure and in constantly evolving situations. Chan also promotes Chinese culture in his story and compares and contrasts it with the western culture, allowing children who celebrate more than one culture to relate.

Grace Chen’s illustrations helped strengthen Chan’s story. Her drawings are like the bolded and underlined sections of an essay, emphasizing the important details. For example, readers can recognize Zhu’s fear when the dragon first appears in front of the bullies. Similarly, readers can empathize with the nervousness Hailey was feeling when she was riding Zhu and not knowing where to go just yet.

Chan and Chen’s work flowed well together, and it was as if they just knew it is every child’s dream to have a friendly pet dragon who could shrink down to travel with them, stand up against bullies, and fly them around.