The Baby Blue Dragon
Author: Nell Kent
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication Date: August 15, 2017
Length: 28 pages
Recommended Ages: 4 - 8
About the Author
Nell Kent graduated from Southeastern State University in Durant Oklahoma in 1973 with a degree in Fine Arts. The Baby Blue Dragon was her first book and she has published a second book named Sapphire's Adventure.
A Rescue Farm for Dragons
Cassie and Emma, two sisters who live in the city, are visiting their Aunt Dragon. The girls have never visited their aunt's farm before. They soon discover that this is no ordinary farm. Aunt Dragon runs a rescue farm for dragons!
One stormy evening, the girls saw a strange blue creature land on Aunt Dragon's porch. When Aunt Dragon goes out to investigate, she discovers it is a baby blue dragon.
Aunt Dragon takes the dragon to her barn and names her Sapphire. In a few days she has grown to be eighteen feet tall and thirty feet long. Dragons grow very fast.
The girls want to know why Sapphire showed up on Aunt Dragon's porch. Did she get lost during the storm? How could they help Sapphire?
My Thoughts
Ms. Kent wrote this story, drew the illustrations and self-published the book on CreateSpace. This is an excellent example of how a talented writer/artist can make their book-writing dreams come true.
What child doesn't like to read a story about a friendly dragon? The author developed the plot in a way that will keep the reader anxious to find out what happens next. Children will like the idea that the rescue farm is a place where homeless dragons are taken care of in a safe environment. This could lead to a discussion about rescue organizations for dogs, cats and other homeless animals.
Ms. Kent used art markers and colored pencils to draw the illustrations in a pseudo-naïve style that children will find very attractive. I love the way the cover of the book shows an egg in a nest and the first illustration shows a newly hatched baby blue dragon. Children will be able to see how Sapphire was born and what she looked like before she arrived at the dragon rescue farm.
There is a glossary in the back of the book that defines a "dragon" as a mythical creature that has wings and a long tail. It defines "mythical" as a made-up or make-believe animal. Parents should review each word in the glossary with their child. This is an excellent way to test for comprehension and confirm that the child understands that this is a fantasy story.
There are two blank pages at the end of the book for the child to "draw your own dragon" and "write a story about your dragon".
Kudos to Ms. Kent for providing a creative and imaginative experience for children.
MY RATING: 5 STARS OUT OF 5
FYI ~ I purchased a paperback copy of this book with my own funds.
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My Glasses
Author: Jessica Arnold
Illustrator: Jessica Arnold
Publisher: Marquette Press (June 15, 2012)
About The Author
This is the fifth book written by 13-year-old Jessica Arnold, who became an
author at seven years old with her positive story, "I am Good at Lots of
Things."
New Glasses
Samantha returns to school as a sixth grader and discovers that there is
something unusual going on with her vision. Sentences look blurry causing her to
have trouble reading. Her mother makes her an appointment with the eye doctor
and she soon learns about what it's like to have glasses for the first time.
Samantha's visit to the optometrist's office is a very pleasant experience. She describes the eye exam and the fun she has picking out a pair of frames. The only bad thing about the visit is that she has to wait several days before she can take her new glasses home.
When she wears the new glasses to school, she is amazed at how much better she can see. Samantha is loving her new glasses UNTIL a girl in her class calls her "Four Eyes" and teases her about the glasses. Samantha cries and takes her glasses off for the rest of the day. She doesn't like being teased.
Samantha's mother helps her "SEE" that she needs to wear the glasses and she does not need a friend that teases her.
My Thoughts
I got my first pair of glasses when I was in the second grade. I am very near-sighted and it seems like I have been wearing glasses or contact lens for my entire life. I am happy to see a story written about this subject.
Jessica Arnold has written a first-person account about how it feels to get glasses for the first time. She has done an excellent job describing this experience from a child's point-of-view.
I love to see children writing, illustrating and publishing books. The Kindle has opened a wonderful door of opportunity for young writers and artists. This book should make the experience of getting glasses a little easier for children who read this book.
The illustrations are hand-drawn line drawings that are colored with crayons or colored pencils. It appears that the images were cut out and glued onto background paper to make a collage.
I would like to suggest some work on the formatting of this book. The first four illustrations are placed on the page with the text. The rest of the story is shown with no illustrations. The illustrations for the story are then shown at the end of the book. It should be fairly easy to get the text and illustrations together to make an integrated presentation.
Kudos to this young author!!! I hope to see more books from her in the future.
My Rating: 4 Stars Out Of 5
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