Dear Dragon

Starred review from July 15, 2016
Two pen pals get to know each other over several months, and when they meet, each discovers that the other is a little different than imagined.Two classes in different schools are assigned a poetry and pen-pal project in which the members exchange letters, and all the letters must be in rhyme. But from the very beginning, readers know something the pen pals don't: George Slair is a young boy of color, while Blaise Dragomir is a young green dragon. The pair establish a quick bond, but whether due to the constriction of rhyme or the brevity of their letters, George and Blaise are a little vague in their descriptions, allowing each to imagine the other is a boy or dragon similar to himself. When Blaise declares his favorite sport is sky diving, George pictures a boy fearlessly gliding under a parachute; when George says his towering volcano won the science fair, Blaise envisions a dragonet circling the mouth of an actual volcano. Epistolary anticipation builds for pen pals and readers alike until boy and dragon finally come face to face, and each is thrilled to discover that his new friend is even cooler than he imagined. Montalvo's visual irony skillfully paces alongside Funk's gamboling rhymes, rendering readers' investigations of each spread just as rewarding as the page turns. A playful celebration of difference (and poetry). (Picture book. 3-8)

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October 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-In this picture book that's written in bouncy rhyme, classrooms at a school for human children and one for dragons are each beginning a combined poetry and pen-pal unit. Blaise Dragomir and George Slair exchange letters, telling each other about their families, relating what's going on in school, and finding out that they have lots in common, without ever realizing that theirs is an interspecies friendship. The game is up at the pen-pal picnic, though, when the friends are at first startled but then just happy to meet at last-and the teachers plan the same trick for next year. Young readers will enjoy being in on the secret that this tale's characters don't know about; adding to the fun are Montalvo's bright, detailed, and at times wonderfully chaotic depictions of childhood. VERDICT Funk's title is perfect for classes undertaking a pen-pal unit, but general picture book collections can benefit from this gentle reminder that kids who look different can still get along.-Henrietta Verma, National Information Standards Organization, Baltimore

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