Nitty Gritty 0: The Ninth Dragon, 1st edition

The dragon was carved from a gleaming white stone. Its tiny scales shimmered and its curled eagle claws were sharper than the point on a lead pencil. It had a head like a camel, the ears of a cow and the body of a snake . . .

Zac's mum has landed the job of a lifetime – working with ancient relics at a museum in China. And now Zac has to join her over the holidays. Zac had planned to be hanging out with his friends, surfing and riding the new skate park down the road. Now he'll be stuck in freezing cold, deadly boring China. But, after Zac finds a mysterious carved dragon at the airport in Beijing, the trip takes a strange turn. It might not be such a lame holiday after all . . .