Dragon's Extraordinary Egg

August 25, 2014
A penguin named Bib asks his mother for a bedtime story, and as she complies, it becomes clear that the story is actually a family history about unlikely but enduring love. Bib’s mother, it turns out, was raised by a childless dragon who gave her adopted offspring “love and time, the greatest gifts of all,” to develop courage and resilience. The rest of the young dragons, however, were pretty much raised to be louts who show themselves to be bullies. There’s a lot of enjoyment to be derived from the contrast of the preening, aerodynamic dragons with the good-hearted groundedness of the penguins. Unfortunately, Gliori’s (What’s the Time, Mr. Wolf?) tendency to wear her editorial heart on her sleeve results in big emotional moments that feel like unnecessary intrusions—the idea that “Sometimes things happen for a reason,” is a running theme, and Bib’s mother reminds him that “Feathers keep us warm, but they can’t keep cold words out.” All is forgiven, however, when Grandma Dragon makes a cameo appearance in the book’s final spread. Ages 4–8.

Starred review from September 1, 2014
A picture book about families originally published in Britain as Dragon Loves Penguin.It is bedtime for penguin Bib, but he wants a story from his mommy and daddy, a particular story about dragons, and alert children will note that he wants the very story that is in their or their caregivers' laps. In the book, dragons come to live in the ice and snow, on top of a volcano. When spring comes, there is a dragon without an egg, and an egg without a mommy, so that dragon gives fluffy, undraconian Little One, who hatches from that egg, "love and time." One day, the big dragons fly away on errands, and the small dragons bully Little One. Hurt and alone, she feels the volcano wake up and warns them all. She slides down the mountain on her soft tummy away from the fire and finds, at its bottom, an egg-which she nurtures, just as her dragon mother did with her. Bib wants the story again, so Grandma-the dragon-begins it again. The language is rich and evocative but beautifully simple, with lovely cadences for reading aloud. The spiky orange dragons have long snouts and lots of points and angles, in contrast to small, fluffy Little One and the penguin-smooth grown-up birds. One would be hard-pressed to find a warmer or more engaging adoption/blended-family tale than this one. (Picture book. 4-8)

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July 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-Behind Gliori's witty, well-worded, and warmhearted tales for children is good advice for parents. This story, like so many egg-themed tales, is about adoption, but there's more to it. The story-within-a-story contains gentle lessons about isolation, being different, how "sometimes things happen for a reason," and how loving others is the best cure for loneliness. The prose is often poetic: "All the other eggs were given endless gifts: fast toys; vast toys; clattering things that made a noise. But Little One was given love and time, the greatest gifts of all." The moments of not-so-subtle moralizing are counterbalanced by endearing characters and engaging illustrations. Children will be immensely satisfied with the surprise ending.-Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY

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