The jade dragon - Carolyn Marsden

"A well-executed easy chapter book that incorporates a friendship story with the more serious issue of identity. . . A first-rate purchase." — SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

Ginny is sure the new girl in her second-grade class will be her best friend. After all, Stephanie is Chinese, just like Ginny. But Ginny soon discovers some puzzling things about Stephanie: she doesn't like Chinese food, she hates her straight black hair, and even more surprisingly, her parents are not Chinese. At Ginny's house, MaM cooks delicious Chinese dishes as the family prepares for their big holiday party and Stephanie spies Ginny's most prized possession — a hand-carved jade dragon — and asks to take it home. Much as Ginny yearns for a best friend, is it worth the risk of losing her special keepsake and angering MaM? Drawing on Virginia Loh's real life story, the authors poignantly capture Ginny's dilemma as she navigates with difficulty between her culture and her friendship.

Carolyn Marsden is the author of THE GOLD-THREADED DRESS and its sequel, THE QUAIL CLUB, as well as SILK UMBRELLAS and MOON RUNNER. She lives in La Jolla, California.

Virginia Shin-Mui Loh is a former elementary-school teacher who is currently a doctoral candidate in education. THE JADE DRAGON is her debut novel. Like Ginny, the story's heroine, she was born and raised in Virginia. She lives in San Diego, California.