As a stone lion, Jin was one of the Guardians of the Old City Gate, but in following his passion as a ball player, he encounters an unexpected mishap.

As a result, he finds himself in an abrupt transition from the spirit world to the very real material one, from where Jin must find a way to return to his original form.

That however, is easier said than done. Luckily, he has a motley crew to assist him in that endeavour - even if they are just a human girl and a worm with apparent delusions of grandeur!

A charming story that draws on traditional Chinese folktales to weave an adventure that will appeal to modern readers, this one is worth checking out.

A great story showing the nature of gradian spirits of the Chinese culture. The ideas of family, responsibility and understanding of others in a folk lore like tale. The Story shows the nature of making mistakes and taking responsibility. Looking to find solutions that is beneficial to all is the main focus, of the story. It shows children that selfish behaviors cause problems both for families, and society.
The book shows multicultural aspects of Chinese culture. A strong female character. The book also shows social change that benefits all.

A unique tale fused together with many charming short stories and powerful emotions. The writing is beautiful! The stories feel so separate as they are being told and then begin to overlap and connect in wonderful ways. I love the way the story is based in folktales as well as the meaningful themes that the reader can take away from this fantastic story.
The audio is really well done with wonderful voices and a nice cadence, but I also can't wait to get my hands on the physical book to see the beautiful images that I have heard other reviewers mention.

Thank you so much for letting listen to this audiobook. This was such a cute and adorable story. I very much enjoyed the voice interpretations of the narrator.

The Gate, The Girl and The Dragon is a beautiful book with unique characters that aims to show the value of duty, patience, respect, and friendship. It’s a children’s book and is mysterious, magical, and thoroughly enjoyable.

The world is exceptionally well created and the narrators for the audiobook are perfect and relaxing to listen to. It’s especially special that one of them is Grace Lin, the author herself.

A very memorable audiobook.

4 stars

Thanks to Grace Lin and publisher for my audiobook in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

What an absolute JOY the audiobook was. I LOVE Grace Lin's storytelling and writing. The character evolution is always so heartwarming and satisfying in her stories. The mix of folktales that are woven together to craft a rich and unique story, are artfully done - her books are infused with heart, warmth, culture, and meaningful values. The narration was perfect, the character voices were done extremely well and were full of nuance and personality. Sometimes the narration felt like you're being let in on a secret. The tone was soft and engaging at times, and then more bold at other moments - I felt it captured the range and spirit of storytelling for this novel perfectly. I enjoyed listening to the whole audiobook.

This story centred around Gongshi - the stone guardian spirits who watch over the human world. We find Jin, a lion cub, stuck in the human world and tasked with finding a way to keep the bridge between the two worlds alive. He is young, and grapples with taking on responsibility in the way that his father would expect of him. It is a journey of self-realization, discovering your purpose, moving forward with courage, learning the value of duty and sacrifice, of true friendship, being greatful and learning to be compasionate to others.

There are so many characters introduced through the story - Lulu, the sculptor, the worm, the dragons, the Gongshi spirits/guardians, the family in the human world, the bell , the goddess - it is amazing how each character plays their role and we have something meaningful to learn from each of their stories.

Something integral I find in Eastern/Asian inspired fantasies is the focus on family, community and nature. Being from Bharat (India), I appreciate these common culural values and themes being presented so beautifully in this story.

This book even touched upon themes of loss, grief, pride, acceptance of who you are, loyalty, courage - among many other things. Grace Lin's books are a masterclass in meaningful storytelling. I loved her author's note in the end, speaking about all the seeds of inspiration that came together to form this complete book, and the care with which she appraoched it. I liked what she said about how you can't make a plant grow faster by pulling it up from the soil. To craft something to the best it can be, can take time and patience.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the audio-arc of this story. I received it for free, and I'm voluntarily leaving my honest thoughts and opinions in this review.

Thank you Hachette Audio, Little, Brown Young Readers, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio review copy of this book. This is a wonderful story, seamlessly merging Chinese mythology with present day story. Full of great characters, action, and adventure, Grace Lin does a wonderful job showing character growth and development. Can’t wait to share this story with my students.

Grace Lin's writing is always engaging and interesting, and I just loved the note at the end about where the ideas came from. More authors who write stories based on myths and legends should do that.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free audio-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute children's book filled with magical creatures, Chinese lore, and wild adventures. The publishers have already provided a great synopsis of the story, so I won't focus on that. The characters were all great, and there was a great message for children about the importance of patience, duty, love, family, and finding a balance between all of these.

I received the audiobook arc of this story, but I believe that the actual book will come with illustrations, which I'm sure will be gorgeous and add beautiful depictions of the story. It's definitely a great read for a young audience and would be a good classroom read.