It’s not often that you come across a picture book that’s adventurous, cultural, and tells a true story, especially one that you haven’t heard of. I was intrigued when I picked up award-winning author Christopher Cheng’s Powerful Like a Dragon. This Roaring Brook Press picture book, illustrated by Jaqueline Tam, tells what happened to the author’s relatives after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This was fascinating to me as someone who is born and raised on Oahu, but never learned about how the Japanese attacked Hong Kong following the December 7th’s infamous attack.
A true tale
Once you read it, you will be astonished that this is a true tale. The characters just like Cheng’s uncles hid in baskets to flee from Japan’s military rule.
It’s also a really well told story, that my 10-year-old loved as well. There is suspense right from the first page. A dark shadow of a Japanese military soldier casts a terrifying image upon Shu Lok and his Baba.
Action-packed
This picture book is action packed as readers turn every page wondering what will happen to Shu Lok as he leaves his parents and other family members behind. and also the tremendous amount of courage and also physical endurance it took for Shu Lok to sit in these baskets for weeks at a time.
There is a spread with an overview of the town with an image of Shu Lok and others who fled. Upon further look, there is an image of a dragon alluding to Shu Lok’s father telling him to, “Be powerful like a dragon.”
Details of escaping war
The author doesn’t mince words or hide the brutality of their journey and is evident in his descriptions:
“Now the hard, sharp wind stabbed Shu Lok’s face and pierced his vest and pants. Ah Meng removed his own shirt to cover the boy.” The image of Shu Lok’s blurred face looks as real as a photograph and one can feel how cold it was.
In another page, we read, “Shu Lok knew what lay in those lumps by the road, covered in snow.”
But the illustrations also give readers a break between the highly intense story. One wordless spread, for example, shows a boy running free and we are reminded to be like a dragon, the ones in front of us, and those left behind.
How it ends
The story doesn’t have a happy ending. It leaves readers in the mist of their voyage. They are temporarily sheltered from the wind and war, and with that there is hope.
Final words
This is a beautiful story that brings light to a lesser-known story. Visually, the illustrations convey deep emotion. And I am all the more informed as my son is, about the courage of this family and what they had to endure years ago.
