New Dragon City

By Mari Mancusi

Informational Resources:

Author Information:

Mari Mancusi Website:

http://www.marimancusi.com/

Activities & Resources:

All About the Author and Illustrator:

Learn more about her and her books!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-PWOrbJJhy1xZb9sxIIpM0gQ1FKBNudtJrFWLGr-kO0/edit

Author Interview (1:13)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbZEKw6Dz-8

New York City:

Explore facts about New York City

New York City - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help

Facts about New York City for kids (13:27)

Facts about New York for Kids | New York for Kids

Family:

Reading Activity Scavenger Hunt:

https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/reading-activities-kids.html

Get a Library Card:

https://www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Library-Card

Flashlight Reading: Noah really liked to read but they didn’t always have power in New Dragon City

https://boymamateachermama.com/2019/03/17/flashlight-by-lizi-boyd/

Dragons:

Did Dragons Really Exist? (5:41)

https://www.you.tube.com/watch?v=Kjwm7VOHVGM

Dragon Facts for Kids

https://kids.kiddle.co/Dragon

Design a DIY Dragon Nest (14:38)

https://www.you.tube.com/watch?v=VHxXf7fP2Ug

Scavenger Hunt/Survival:

Noah and his family and friends must fight to survive. What do we need?

https://www.greenchildmagazine.com/survival-skills-for-kids/

Scavenger Hunt: Noah and his friends had to scavenge for their daily needs. Create your own scavenger hunt!

https://parade.com/1023648/jessicasager/scavenger-hunt-ideas-for-kids/

MakerSpace Activities:

Keep your dragon egg from breaking (1:53)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=A8WmtBVBSdY

Index Card Skyscraper (5:56)

https://youtu.be/gGIh3vLrlgw

Book Tower: Noah loved to read books but how can he hold them all? Change the properties of paper to hold a stack of books!

https://mysteryscience.com/materials/mystery-5/materials-properties-engineering/262

Make Dragon Scale cards (5:48)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoOXOPqeewA

Debate: Are dragons able to coexist with humans? Complete this template and then build a podium out of index cards with one word to describe your argument.

https://www.storyboardthat.com/create/debate-worksheets

Discussion Questions:

What do you think the title "New Dragon City" suggests about the story? What role do dragons play in the book?

What would you do if you spent the day with Noah? Where would you go to eat, hang out, relax, etc.?

If Noah Were To Hang Out With Other Fictional Characters, Who Would They Be And Why?

If There Was One Fictional Place You Could Travel To For A Day, Where Would It Be And Why?

Can you describe the setting of the story? How does it contribute to the overall mood of the book?

If you buried a time capsule with three items inside, what three items would you choose and why?

What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from New Dragon City?

What do you think the author is trying to teach or convey through the legends in the story?

Were there any surprising or unexpected events in the story? How did they impact the characters?

How does the author build suspense in the story? Were there moments that kept you on the edge of your seat?

Can you relate to any of the characters in the book? In what ways are they similar to or different from you?

What is the main problem or challenge that the characters face in the book?

How does the book inspire creativity and imagination? Are there any fantastical elements that captured your attention?

Do the characters make good choices in the story? Can you think of alternative choices they could have made?

What lessons about friendship or teamwork can be learned from the characters' experiences?

How does the author use descriptive language to help you visualize the scenes and characters in the story?

Were there any parts of the story that reminded you of other books or movies you've experienced? How are they similar or different?

What values or morals do you think the characters learn by the end of the story?

If you could ask the author one question about the book, what would it be?

How does the author create a sense of adventure in "New Dragon City"?

Book Talk Teasers:

Read the reader’s theater for New Dragon City by Mari Mancusi

Watch the book trailer on the Texas Bluebonnet Award website.

Book Trailer (1:13)

https://vimeo.com/720283299

Read Alikes: 

D’Lacey, Chris, The Earth Dragons: The Wearle.  Gabrial is a young dragon, anxious to both prove himself and also find his father who years ago was one of a Wearle of dragons who set out from their home planet and were never heard from again--and now he is part of a new Wearle that has come to Earth, but one of the other dragons has dark plans, and when war erupts between dragons and humans, Gabrial finds that his only ally is an unusual human boy called Ren. (NoveList Plus)

Higuera, Donna Barba., The Last Cuentista There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children--among them Petra and her family--have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet--and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard--or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again? (NoveLIst Plus)

Ritter, Kacey, The Great Texas Dragon Race. Wings of Fire meets The Hunger Games in this debut contemporary middle grade fantasy stand-alone about thirteen-year-old Cassidy Drake, who enters the dangerous Great Texas Dragon Race to save her family’s dragon sanctuary. (NoveList Plus)

Sutherland, Tui, Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy.  Determined to end a generations-long war among the seven dragon tribes, a secret movement called the Talons of Peace draws on a prophecy that calls for a great sacrifice, compelling five appointed dragonets to fulfill a painful destiny against their will. (NoveList Plus)

Reviews:

Booklist  (vol 119, number 3, p62)

Five years have passed since the dragon  apocalypse, when dragons  arrived and burned everything in their path. Noah and his parents were among the survivors, taking shelter in the New  York City  subway and emerging only in the months when dragons  hibernate. After his mother disappears, Noah ventures out to search for supplies and spots a dragon , setting off a chain of events that leaves him and his dad alone in pursuit of dragons  and his mom. When Noah finds a baby dragon  named Asha, he and his father are forced to reconsider their negative preconceptions about these creatures, and since his father won’t open his eyes to the truth, Noah must do all he can to save Asha and the dragons . This fast-paced adventure provides an inventive take on the postapocalyptic novel, mixing the magic of dragons  into a survival story set in New  York City . Filled with vibrant characters and told from the perspectives of Noah and Asha, New Dragon City  shows that things are not always what they seem. -- Selenia Paz (Reviewed 10/1/2022)