Baby Dragon

Title: Baby Dragon

Author: Amy Ehrlich (Illustrated by Will Hillenbrand)

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Copyright Date: 2008

Print Date: August 2008

ISBN: 9780763628406

Pages: 28

Book Description (from dust jacket):

Baby Dragon knows he must wait for his mother by the red fern. He knows she'll be back by morning. So he passes time by counting his claws, drawing in the sand, and taking naps.

But as night falls, Baby Dragon starts to worry. What if his mother doesn't come back?

Blending just the right amount of excitement and apprehension, author Amy Ehrlich spins a magical and ultimately reassuring tale. Will Hillenbrand's charming, lush illustrations create a rich atmosphere in which the bond between child and parent shines through.

The Author Speaks:

Candlewick has provided an interview (PDF file) with Amy Ehrlich about this book.

Comments:

Baby Dragon is a very cute book that I checked out from the library. I read it to my nephew and niece. My nephew loved the baby dragon (lots of exclamations of "Baby!" and "It's so cute!").

When we got to this part...


he started pointing and telling me, "Aww. The baby dragon so sad!"

And at the end, after baby and mother reunite, Baby Dragon can finally play with frog. The picture doesn't show the mother dragon, though, so the nephew was all concerned..."Mommy gone!" (Just FYI, this was followed by my reassurances that the mother was right there, and we just couldn't see her. Like how his (my nephew) mommy was here but we couldn't see her since she was upstairs. This seemed to satisfy him, but he still liked the picture of baby and mother curled up together best.)

Anyway, in one of my many library classes it was discussed how books can help w/ discussions about feelings with young kids. I'd say this one definitely did that, especially if read with the recommended 4 - 8 year old.