Sylvia and Bird
“In a faraway place, on a high mountaintop, lived a shimmer-shiny dragon named Sylvia.” Thus begins the minimal and lyrical tale of an unlikely friendship between a lonely, winged, slightly goofy-looking dragon and a petite yellow bird. The fact that Bird has other bird friends and Sylvia has no other dragons “to belong with” makes Sylvia feel alone. Sylvia decides to go to the moon in search of other dragons. Bird accompanies her but begins to tumble back to earth. Sylvia rescues her and realizes that “loving, loyal Bird” is all she needs. Although there is plot and action, the focus in both the text and illustrations is clearly on the dynamics of the friendship—little else is depicted except for Sylvia and Bird interacting. Beautiful in its simplicity, this would serve well for a discussion starter about friendships. It could be effectively paired with something as wildly different as Yo! Yes? (1993), by Chris Raschka. Preschool-Grade 2. --Randall Enos