Lion Dancers taught me so much about a cultural tradition that is worthy of celebrating. I had no idea what lion dancing entailed or the athleticism of the dancers that is required. I couldn't believe the level of danger that the dancers apply in competition. I enjoyed the back and forth conflict between the two lion dancers. The two boys were previously teamed up, but had a falling out. Now, they have joined another team together and are competing for the top spot. Will their rivalry hurt the team? Will they be able to settle their differences? I highly recommend this graphic novel for 3rd grade and up.

A lively, fascinating look at a tradition / sport / performance art that I didn't know much about at all. The illustrations are dynamic and expressive and do a great job portraying the spectacle of lion dancing. The central conflicts - Wei versus Hung and Wei versus his own self-doubt - are compelling and understandable. Great book!

Two former friends and lion dancing partners are reunited in this middle grade graphic novel about friendship, teamwork, and learning to be sure of yourself. Wei quit lion dancing when his former partner, Hung, was mean to him. Now, several years later, he decides to take it back up again only to discover that Hung has been lion dancing all these years. His rivalry with Wei starts to get in the way of the team's ability to perform, forcing both boys to decide what's most important to them. All the depictions of lion dancing were really cool. It's not an art / sport I knew anything about, so getting to learn more about lion dancing half the fun of this graphic novel for me.

Will Wei prove himself to be a great lion dancer?
Wei, a young boy, has always been benched in school teams, and he always feels left out as a result. One day, on his way home from school, he has an encounter that reawakens his old passion for lion dancing. So, he decides to rejoin a lion dancing practice to give it another shot. However, there is one problem: his old friend Hung turns out to be a rival and wants to avoid Wei in the practice. Soon, Wei and Hung compete to see who would be the better lion dancer, and through this, they start to learn more about themselves.

I was utterly engrossed in this book and couldn't put it down. The illustrations were skillfully done with a charming, cartoony style. The book also provided me with a fascinating insight into the world of lion dancing and its significance to those who practice it as a group.
Wei's character stood out for his unwavering determination and strong work ethic. I deeply admired his resilience, especially considering the challenges he faced. On the other hand, Hung's character didn't appeal to me much due to his lack of kindness.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an inspiring story about perseverance and the value of hard work.
Happy Reading, Paige ❤️ 📚

Thank you, @netgalley & @SimonKids #SimonKidsCrew , for the complimentary ARC, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Overall a fun read that taught me a lot about lion dancing! Some parts were slower in the middle but otherwise beautiful drawings that complemented the book

Lion Dancers is a middle grade graphic novel about sort of embracing the things that are important to us, even if people have driven us away from those things. Wei is a kid living through the trauma of his parents' death not so long after he quits his lion dancing team, but some time later he's given the opportunity to join a new team.... along with his ex-partner, aka the reason he quit his old team to begin with!

We as readers get to learn a lot about lion dancing throughout the ~300 pages as well as get ot know some of these kids and the anger of adolescence while trying to juts find a place you belong... even when someone so close to you tells you you don't.

I enjoyed this book and I bet in full color it'll be even better! Totally understand the B&W for ARC purposes though and I think that's quite smart.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for the eARC in exchange for review!

Lion Dancers was a quick fun read for those who enjoyed Lunar New Year Love Story. One of my favorite things about this story were the chapter heads which allowed the reader to learn more about the culture and history of the Lion Dance. The story itself is a great one for young students to read and become enraptured in. It is a great story to not only learn about a different culture but also to see how grief and the loss of friendships can impact our lives. While I wish there had been a little more time spent on the characters back story, i loved that the author chose to focus on moving forward instead of back.

** reviewed from uncorrected eARC via netgalley **

Children's middlegrade graphic fiction. 13 y.o. awkward middleschooler Wei (whose championship-winning father Yuho Lee passed away 2 years ago) quit the lion dance team years ago, but he is talented and now he wants to join the Southern Phoenix Lion Dance Team (the Birds)--even if he has to fight his old lion partner Hung over it. Dynamic artwork captures the action of the story, and I love that you get to learn the meanings behind traditional lion dancing movements, even if I am undoubtedly pronouncing them all wrong.

In a Nutshell: A middle-grade graphic novel about two lion dancers who realise the value of team spirit. Excellent information on lion dancing. Great lessons on working as a team. Good characters. Straightforward story. Wonderful illustrations. Recommended.

Plot Preview:
Wei had always dreamt of becoming a champion lion dancer just like his dad. He enjoyed training as the ’lion head’, with his best friend Hung performing as the ‘lion tail.’ However, after Wei’s dad suddenly passed away, the friendship as well as the dream shattered.
Now, two years later, Wei is stuck in a rut of frustration. Though great in studies, he has no talent for any sport. When he discovers the existence of a junior lion dance training group nearby, he reignites his old passion. The only problem is that Hung is also part of this group. Now Wei and Hung need to overpower their animosity and learn to work together as a team.

Bookish Yays:
🐉 Everything to do with lion dancing! There’s a brief intro about lion dancing at the start. Every chapter begins with the name of one lion dance step, along with its interpretation. I didn’t even know there was so much technicality in lion dancing, or that there are lion dancing championships! All the info was so fascinating! I also loved knowing how many offices and shops ask for a lion dance performance at the start of the Lunar New Year.
🐉 Lion dancing might sound like it is mainly “dancing”, but the book reveals how it is a sport, and a strenuous one at that! It is not easy to position the body in those awkward stances and move in sync with your partner. There is also a coordination between the dancers and the musicians. It was amazing to see how the dancers pass on cues to each other when they can’t even see or speak to each other or the musicians.
🐉 One major conflict in the story is about the relative importance of the ‘head’ and the ‘tail’. I loved how beautifully the story brings out the equal importance of both positions. Such a nice way of telling kids that every role is important!
🐉 Anyone who is or wants to be a part of team sports will appreciate the depiction of team spirit in this book. The positive competitiveness among the players, the synchronisation across the entire team, the importance of trust, the necessity of regular training – all depict how teams ought to function. At the same time, not everything in the story is serious. The book also highlights how the team soon becomes a family, with a lot of funny quips and good-natured ribbing across members.
🐉 The ending is perfect. Though a middle-grade book, it doesn’t go into a ‘Protagonists Are Always Winners’ mode, choosing instead to stop at the point where the boys decide to work in unity and harmony for the upcoming championship. After all, life isn’t about winning but about giving your best every time. A good lesson for kids to learn.

🐉 The illustrations are perfect for the tone of the story. The colour palette works wonderfully to bring out the stunning costumes and the dance moves. My ARC didn’t have all colour pages, but based on the few sample coloured panels, I can tell that the final artwork is going to be stunning.
🐉 This is an OwnVoices work not just because of the author’s ethnic background but also because she is a lion dancer with the Chinese Youth League of Australia. (https://www.instagram.com/cylladda) The authenticity feels real because it IS real!

Bookish Mixed Bags:
☯ The story is mostly straightforward and guessable. However, it is aimed at middle-graders, so a simplified narrative is to be expected.
☯ While the book explores many themes such as parental death, grief, frustration, teamwork, competitions, peer pressure, familial pressure, loneliness, and so on, most of these are at a surface level. Only the themes directly connected to lion dancing are detailed intricately. There are also many direct and indirect references to Chinese culture and customs, but these are also somewhat vague except when about the sport.
☯ The conflict between Wei and Hung brings out many relevant points about the tussles of friendship, but it also feels a bit dragged, especially as we don’t even know the details of how they drifted apart except for a vague reason. I wish the reason for their clash had come out better.


Bookish Nays:
🏮 There are many missing details in the plot flow. How exactly did Wei’s father die? Who was that quirky captain of the lion dance team, and why was he so elusive? Also, why wasn’t he a performer with the senior team? How did Wei and Jun become such good friends despite being so opposite in nature? Even the characters’ ages aren’t clear, though we know that Hung and Wei are middle-schoolers. These could have been explained within a couple of panels, and they could have made the story smoother. As the focus is strictly on lion dancing, character development gets a bit affected.
🏮 There is absolutely no clue about where the story is set! The book is coming out in the USA, and the author is based in Australia, so it has to be either of these countries. But there is no indication of the location at all. We get vague place names that don’t correspond to reality, such as “Southern Phoenix” team or store signs written in Chinese. Most of the characters are of Asian origin. (All might be Chinese, but I can’t say for sure, as lion dancing isn’t exclusive to China.) Such basic details such as age or location might seem trivial, but they add much to our reading experience.


All in all, despite a few niggles about the lacunae in the plot flow, I enjoyed this book. It is so informative about lion dancing that I Googled a few videos on the dance form and saw the performance with more knowledgeable eyes.

Definitely recommended, to middle-graders as well as teens. This is a wonderful and culturally inclusive option, highlighting not just the value of team spirit but also an excellent dance-sport tradition that might not be familiar to Western readers.

4 stars

My thanks to Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for providing the DRC of “Lion Dancers” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

In this beautiful Graphic Novel about rivals who were once friends, we follow Wei. A young Lion Dancer who dreams of being the best just like his championship winning father. After the passing of said father and harsh words amongst his best friend, Wei quits Lion Dancing for a while. After a few years of learning to live life without Lion Dancing, Wei finds himself stumbling back in full force after he interrupts a Junior Lion Dancing Team’s training.

Guess who’s also on this team? Our rival and rising champion, Hung!

The art and story both were wonderful. Lion Dancing is such a beautiful sport that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. I hope this book can spark some interest and the book community can bring Lion Dancing into the fold. I’d love to read more about it!
I’m going to give this Novella a 3.5/5-star rating. Though I loved the characters, sport, and art work, I felt like the ending was a little rushed. I would have liked to see them reignite their friendship a little more before tossing them back into a performance together so suddenly. One of the main focuses of Lion Dancing was to trust your partner, and though they have old chemistry, I don’t think they were ready to become a pair again so soon.

My thanks to Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing and NetGalley for the Digital Advanced Reader’s Copy. This book is expected to be published August 13th, 2024.

The book was fine. I enjoyed the art and it is a very quick read. I was not fully moved by the story but it will do well with the right demographic.

Wei used to be a lion dancer but after his father tragically passed away on the way to his own lion dance performance, he quit. He was the lion head and his friend Hung was the tail. Many years later he decided to revisit this passion and landed on a team with Hung again. Hung is upset and hostile toward him for the past. Wei just wants to get his passion back. This is a wonderful story of teamwork, friendship, passion, and treating others with respect. I look forward to more from this author and seeing the final full color version. I will be recommending this one to my audience.

Thank you Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this wonderful book. I really enjoyed this story and learned more about the lion dancing as well as information and meaning behind the steps, different parts of the dance, and costumes presented at the beginning of each chapter. The theme and importance of teamwork is reinforced throughout the story, and the focus is on the relationships between teammates, since lion dancing is a competitive sport (I didn’t know that before reading this book). Great character development and wonderful graphics makes for an interesting read. I would love to see a sequel focused on the competition since the book ends with the announcement of the competition team, but says nothing about how the competition went. Looking forward to sharing this awesome story with my students.

Another title for the pre-order list! I'd love to have this on the shelves for my patrons when they come back to school in the fall -- I think they'll really relate to the teamwork and friendship struggles of the protagonists, as well as the beautiful art. I'd love to read more of the lion dancers' adventures! Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

This was a fun and sweet book about finding passions, being yourself and being your authentic self. I loved this read so much!

I loved this graphic novel! There was great character development and I loved seeing everyone’s relationships as part of a team. We followed Wei’s journey in falling back in love with lion dancing after he’d quit years before, and it commented a lot on grief, perseverance, teamwork and respect for all team positions, and friendship. All of the information about lion dancing that prefaces each chapter was super helpful and easy to understand. The arc I received was black and white for the majority of the book, but what pages were colored were very nice, and the illustrations in general are a really enjoyable style. My absolute only note was that the ending leads us into a new arrangement of the team which we don’t get to see in action and left me wanting more. I would absolutely love if a sequel were to be put in the works that focused on competition season.

Fantastic read with beautiful artwork. A story about navigating life after loss, complicated friendships, and believing in yourself.

I love a great middle school graphic novel with amazing character development!

There were some parts of the story that I felt weren’t needed or parts I wanted more information on. Overall it had just the right amount of emotion to make you feel along with the character and made me gasp out loud a few times. Can’t wait to rec it to everyone I know once it comes out!

Thank you to the publisher for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.