From the author........
The Story
Lulu dreams that one day she will be the lion drummer in the Chinese dragon parade… Will her dream ever come true?
Background
My niece Louisa was the inspiration behind this book. She is studying to be a lion drummer and dancer.
In 1978, my mother and my brother went to the old dragon making city of Foshan in China. The dragon they made was the biggest processional dragon in the world: it takes eight people to carry his head alone! They call him The Millennium Dragon. This is the dragon you see marching through the streets of Melbourne.
Twice a year during Chinese New Year and Moomba, The Millennium Dragon awakens to the beat of the lion drummer, the dance of the lions and the phut phut phut of firecrackers. Then he parades through the streets of Melbourne. My whole family and many other volunteers come together on these days to help bring the big dragon to life.
I never tire of watching and listening to the rhythm of the lion drummer. The beat is so exciting!
If you live in Melbourne or are just visiting, come along during the Chinese New Year festival or Moomba and see the lion drummer and the dancers as they accompany The Millennium Dragon through the streets of Chinatown.
Themes
Moving permanently to a new country is not easy, especially when you can’t speak the language. Not only that, the traditions and customs are so different from your own. All my books deal with the experience of migrant families, and some of the things they come up against while settling into their new home. Not only are there problems for first generation migrant families, but also for their children.
These children can have problems of identity and often end up rejecting the language, values and customs of their parents in order to fit in. This is what I did when I was a young girl.
The Lion Drummer also deals with tradition and the breaking of tradition. Tradition is good because it keeps a group cohesive but it can also stifle and block the way forward.
The Illustrations
I have always loved Andrew Mclean’s illustrations and requested him especially for The Lion Drummer. He is an award winning illustrator and you can see why. Andrew draws with such sensitivity – his linework is beautiful and I particularly love the way he draws faces. He has the ability to capture an entire scene in a tiny drawing (page 67). I feel it a great privilege to have him illustrate my story.
Lulu dreams that one day she will be the lion drummer in the Chinese dragon parade… Will her dream ever come true?
Background
My niece Louisa was the inspiration behind this book. She is studying to be a lion drummer and dancer.
In 1978, my mother and my brother went to the old dragon making city of Foshan in China. The dragon they made was the biggest processional dragon in the world: it takes eight people to carry his head alone! They call him The Millennium Dragon. This is the dragon you see marching through the streets of Melbourne.
Twice a year during Chinese New Year and Moomba, The Millennium Dragon awakens to the beat of the lion drummer, the dance of the lions and the phut phut phut of firecrackers. Then he parades through the streets of Melbourne. My whole family and many other volunteers come together on these days to help bring the big dragon to life.
I never tire of watching and listening to the rhythm of the lion drummer. The beat is so exciting!
If you live in Melbourne or are just visiting, come along during the Chinese New Year festival or Moomba and see the lion drummer and the dancers as they accompany The Millennium Dragon through the streets of Chinatown.
Themes
Moving permanently to a new country is not easy, especially when you can’t speak the language. Not only that, the traditions and customs are so different from your own. All my books deal with the experience of migrant families, and some of the things they come up against while settling into their new home. Not only are there problems for first generation migrant families, but also for their children.
These children can have problems of identity and often end up rejecting the language, values and customs of their parents in order to fit in. This is what I did when I was a young girl.
The Lion Drummer also deals with tradition and the breaking of tradition. Tradition is good because it keeps a group cohesive but it can also stifle and block the way forward.
The Illustrations
I have always loved Andrew Mclean’s illustrations and requested him especially for The Lion Drummer. He is an award winning illustrator and you can see why. Andrew draws with such sensitivity – his linework is beautiful and I particularly love the way he draws faces. He has the ability to capture an entire scene in a tiny drawing (page 67). I feel it a great privilege to have him illustrate my story.
Before Reading .......
View the following PowerPoint and discuss using the questions that follow it
lantern_fest_photos.ppt | |
File Size: | 474 kb |
File Type: | ppt |
- What is the animal in the images?
- How many people are inside the animal helping it to dance?
- How do the dancers work together?
- Why do you think it is a lion and not another animal like a mouse or a goat or a possum? - the lion is an important Chinese totem, the symbol of power, majesty and courage, capable of warding off evil spirits.
Talk about the lion dance and look for evidence in the photos of some of the things below:
- A well performed lion dance is believed to bring good luck and happiness.
- Two dancers are inside the lion. One handles the head, made out of strong but light materials like papier-mache and bamboo. The other person moves the body and the tail under a cloth that is attached to the head.
- Three musicians help the lion dance. One plays a large drum, another plays the cymbals and the third a gong.
- A little Buddha teases the lion with a fan or a giant ball.
- The head dancer can move the lion’s eyes, mouth and ears to show its moods.
- The performers are usually very good at kung fu and every kind of move has a specific musical rhythm.