Lovabye Dragon
PreS-Gr 1-Once there was Girl, perhaps a princess, who longed to have a dragon for a friend. "Oh, she cried silver tears/many, many tears/so wishing for a dragon/so lonely for a dragon," and those tears trickle out of the castle to a distant mountain where Dragon wakes from his dreams. He follows the silvery trail back to the girl waiting in her lonely room, and they go to a shell-strewn beach where Dragon makes a fire. He wraps his tail protectively around her and Girl sings to him. On a very fine final spread, Girl rides on Dragon's back through the drifting clouds of a starry night. The fairy-tale setting, lilting repetitive verses, and whimsical characters are wonderfully done. Oil paintings, using a blue, gray, and gold palette, suggest that a toy dragon and three shiny soldiers with swords drawn have come to life, giving an added dimension to the text. This satisfying tale of two forever friends is both a comforting bedtime story and affirmation that sometimes dreams do come true.-Mary Jean Smith, formerly at Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TNα(c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.