Dragon's Dinner by Susannah Corbett and Lynne Chapman
| Dragon's Dinner by Susannah Corbett and Lynne Chapman | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
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| Summary: A fun picture book that sees a dragon chase after various animals in search of lunch, and a heroic little mouse who stands up to the dragon. The illustrations are great, but some of the rhymes would benefit from being tweaked a little. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: August 2009 |
| Publisher: Hodder Children's Books | |
| ISBN: 978-0340944226 | |
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A hungry dragon heads into the woods to see what he can catch for his lunch. He's soon chasing after a bear, fox, cat and other animals, desperately trying to munch them. When the dragon comes across a mouse, he soon discovers that the most unlikely animal might just fight back.
There's plenty to like about Dragon's Dinner: the story itself is a classic tale of repetition, with a fun twist in the end. The characters are all of a type, but they're different enough to other books to feel fresh and original. Children will love the big (not too) scary dragon, and then the cute little mouse giving the dragon his comeuppance. There's enough jollity and silliness to have everyone sniggering along.
The rhythm of the book works really well, but some of the rhymes feel a little forced and awkward. There's nothing downright bad, but there is a feeling throughout that a little tweaking here and there wouldn't have gone amiss. The expected standard for poetry in children's books always feels a little higher than it possibly should be, but given that most picture books get read time and time again, it's worth keeping an eye out if things grate slightly, for the parent's sake more than the child's.
The rhymes aren't an insurmountable problem though, and Lynne Chapman's illustrations go a long way to making this a book worth checking out. Dragons are always great, and this one is no exception, snorting smoke with brightly coloured skin, sharp fangs and claws. The other animals look excellent as they scamper through the forest, scared out of their tiny little minds. Our heroic little mouse that roared is a great role model as well.
If you throw yourself into the tale with gusto, Dragon's Dinner is a fun picture book. If you ever find some rhymes in picture books grate with you, it might be one to borrow from the library first.
My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.
Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter Yarrow, Lenny Lipton and Eric Puybaret is the classic dragon tale that everyone knows and loves. Bookbag also loved the mix of sweetness and silliness in The Baby Dragon-Tamer by Jan Fearnley.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Dragon's Dinner by Susannah Corbett and Lynne Chapman at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Dragon's Dinner by Susannah Corbett and Lynne Chapman at Amazon.com.
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