THE KING OF DRAGONS

Ian and his troubled Dad, a Vietnam vet, have been holing up in an old courthouse, where at least it's warm and dry. It's a good place for his Dad to teach him the fine points of living an invisible life, in which no one can hassle them. But one night his Dad doesn't come back from scrounging for food, and 11-year-old Ian is suddenly on his own, left to cope with the people who are trying to set up a special kite exhibit in the empty courthouse as a museum for kids. Every night now, alone in the dark, it's just Ian and the scariest, gaudiest Chinese dragon kite ever. Narrator Alan Ruck gives Ian a warm, real persona that makes this boy's small triumphs worth cheering for. An appealing story, well read. M.C. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 00]