Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with The Children's Book Review to bring you this post.
With back to school there have been some great books coming out about differences. Let's face it when kids go back to school, they see people who are different from them in some way. It is important for kids to realizes that differences can be a good thing and that it is ok to be friends with people who are different. The book I'm sharing today is about just this. It is A New Friend for Dragon by Bianca Schulze and illustrated by Samara Hardy.
About the Book:
A New Friend for Dragon Written by Bianca Schulze and Illustrated by Samara HardyAges 3+ | 32 Pages | Publisher: Clever Publishing (August 20, 2024) | ISBN-13: 9798888670934
Publisher’s Book Summary: In this most recent tale in Clever’s beloved Dragon series, a new knight has come to town! Sir Fiero wears smooth, shiny armor and has a sparkling silver sword. Dragon wants to be friends with him and invites him to play. But Sir Fiero doesn’t believe that dragons and knights can be friends—or can they? A sweet tale of friendship and challenging stereotypes.
Purchase Links:
About the Author:
Bianca Schulze is the founder and editor of The Children’s Book Review—a resource devoted to children’s literature and literacy—and the host of The Growing Readers Podcast.
Bianca is also the author of the popular Don’t Wake the Dragon series (translated into 20 languages) and the bestselling 101 Books to Read Before You Grow Up (an Amazon “Book of the Month”). She is a reader, reviewer, mother, and children’s book lover.
Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Bianca now lives with her husband and three children near Boulder, Colorado.
For more information, visit biancaschulze.com
About the Illustrator:
Samara Hardy is an experienced illustrator and designer. She has created artwork for clients worldwide for greeting cards, stationery, homewares, children’s books, and more. She lives in Surrey, England.
For more information, visit samarahardy.com
For more information, visit samarahardy.com
From Me:
In this sweet book Dragon is very excited to see a new knight in town. He figures it will be a new friend. However, the new knight thinks that knights and dragons are enemies. He believes that knights kill dragons. He does not want to play with Dragon. He wants to save the princess from the dragon, but the princess does not need saving as she is friends with Dragon. The new knight notices the differences between himself and Dragon. He decides to play hide and seek with Dragon only because the princess wants to. When the knight gets locked in a dark tower Dragon is the only one who can save him. He realizes that perhaps he was wrong about Dragon after all.
I love the sweet story. First the knight has all of the typical knight thoughts. I love that in this book the town is friends with Dragon. The people in town love playing with Dragon even though she breathes fire. She gives them rides and is just happy to have friends. I also love how the knight notices the differences but, in the end, realizes the differences do not matter.
The other thing I really like is in the words there is a bit of commentary. For example, there is "How do you think Dragon is feeling?" after the knight says "No!" to playing hide and seek. Or things like "Can you roll your eyes?" when the princess rolls hers when the knight discusses saving her. The words are fun and can get a discussion going about the different things happening. The pictures are colorful and fun, and I can see kids loving them. This is a great book for reading aloud and talking about the stereotypes and different things happening. The issues between Dragon and the knight can be compared to issues with classmates. How do you think the other person feels when you said you wouldn't play with them? It opens so many things that can get kids to feel empathy for others and think about how others are truly feeling based on their own actions. It is a great book for classrooms as well as story times and bedtime. I hope you will check it out.
Craft Round-Up:
To go with this book, I thought it would be fun to have some dragon and knight crafts. I found a few knight crafts and many more dragon crafts. The dragon crafts are broken up into two groups--Asian inspired dragons and non-Asian inspired dragons.
Knight Crafts
2) How to Make a Knight Shield with Information about Different Kinds of Shields from Adventures in a Messy Life
3) The Mighty Knights Series (not a craft but some great books)
There are some other books featuring knights we have shared over the years.
Asian Inspired Dragon Crafts
3) Chinese Dragon Puppet from Adventures in a Messy Life
2) Handprint Dragons from Simple Everyday Mom
3) Dragon Puppet from Simple Everday Mom
5) Toilet paper roll dragon to go with The Irish Cinderlad
7) Paper Cup Dragons from Simple Everyday Mom
You can also check out some of the many books with/about dragons we have shared over the years.
Giveaway:
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