EVERMORE DRAGON
by Barbara Joosse ; illustrated by Randy Cecil
The comforting friendship between a young girl and an enormous dragon deepens.
In Lovabye Dragon (2012), Joosse shared a hopeful tale of sweet friendship between an unlikely pair. Moving on from the first book, the friendship continues to grow here with an innocent game of hide-and-seek. Doesn’t Girl see the dragon hiding behind a very small rock? Both children and adults reading this story will chuckle, though for slightly different reasons. The two friends delight in their togetherness. When Girl takes her turn to hide, she runs to a faraway hidey-hole and becomes lost in the night, separated from Dragon. “But she cried silver tears / worry worry tears / and her heart thumped a sound / a trem-below sound / that only Dragon friends, / very very special friends, can hear.” So summoned, the distressed Dragon flies to her rescue: “I am here,” he rumbles; Girl whispers, “You’re a dear.” Although the theme of rescue seems similar to the first title, the thoughtfully constructed, rhythmic text sprinkled with clever neologisms moves the action forward, while the comforting palette of hazy grays, blues, and browns keeps the distress minimal. The teary and frightened Girl shines in her starlike yellow gown, muted yet hope-filled on the dreamy pages.
A beguiling read-aloud for more than princess-and-dragon lovers.
(Picture book. 3-6)