The Jingu Magical Garden

More than a fantasy, The Jingu Magical Garden is a story about cultural and environmental borderlands and otherness-and, ultimately, the resilience of the human heart Lillian Jingu wants to be like every other all-American girl-to wear her hair long rather than in the China doll bob her mother insists upon. She's begged for fancy boots like the privileged debutants wear under their beaded gowns in the Battle of the Flowers Parade, or, at least, a glorious Stetson like her friend, Terralitta Maverick, sports. But being the youngest girl of eight children, she must be content with hand-me-downs. She and her little brother Kimi have begged for a puppy, but her parents say the garden is no place for a mutt. Naturally, she is thrilled when she unearths a strange egg by the koi pond. Tut Tut, the wise turtle living in the pond, explains it may be more trouble than she bargained for. Undeterred, Lillian takes the egg home and keeps it warm, eagerly waiting for whatever is inside to hatch. When her little brother, Kimi, finds her with the egg, Lillian lets him in on her secret. Despite her protests to the contrary, Kimi is convinced the egg holds a puppy. Soon, the egg hatches, and a strange lizard-like creature emerges. The Jingu children name him Kokoro, and the baby dragon proves a delightful pet, but they fear that, should he be discovered, he'll be hauled away and caged like an animal in the Brackenridge Zoo. Their dilemma is solved with the discovery of a crack behind the waterfall leading to Jaloloquay, a land forgotten by time. At last, they have found a haven for Kokoro! But when their patriarch suddenly passes away, the Jingu family is left to soldier on and manage the Tea Garden in the throes of the Great Depression. Then the war in Europe foments an anti-Asian…