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Summary
Summary
Everybody knows your typical dragon breathes fire.
But when Crispin tries to breathe fire on his seventh birthday, fire doesn't come out--only whipped cream! Each time Crispin tries to breathe fire, he ends up with
Band-Aids
marshmallows
teddy bears?
Crispin wonders if he'll ever find his inner fire. But when a family emergency breaks out, it takes a little dragon with not-so-typical abilities to save the day.
With wry humor and whimsical illustrations, Not Your Typical Dragon is the perfect story for any child who can't help feeling a little bit different.
Author Notes
Dan Bar-el is an award-winning children's author, educator and storyteller. His writing includes both chapter books and picture books, all of which are highly flammable. If you are reading this book with a dragon, he asks you to please use caution. When not writing or putting out fires, Dan travels about, visiting many schools and libraries. He lives in Vancouver, BC with his wife, artist and goldsmith, Dominique Bréchault (who happens to own a blowtorch!).
Tim Bowers has illustrated over thirty books, including the New York Times best seller, Dream Big, Little Pig by Kristi Yamaguchi. His books have received numerous state and national awards and have been chosen as Junior Library Guild selections. His artwork has been exhibited in the Society of Illustrators Annual Art Exhibition in New York and Los Angeles and the prestigious Original Art Exhibition, celebrating the fine art of children's book illustration. Although Mr. Bowers was born into a proud family of hairdressers (his mother was a hairdresser, his grandmother was a hairdresser and his great-grandfather was a barber) he opted to become an illustrator. Now, without hair, Bowers continues to enjoy telling stories with pictures, which is not your typical Bowers.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-This tale breathes a whiff of didacticism into its sweet rumination on being different. On his seventh birthday, Crispin Blaze is supposed to breathe fire for the first time, but whipped cream comes out of the little dragon's mouth instead. At the doctor's office, Band-Aids emerge, and whenever Crispin tries to breathe fire, he fails. Afraid of disappointing his family, he runs away and he is befriended by a knight charged with fighting a fire-breathing dragon. When Crispin becomes homesick, the two are welcomed back by the youngster's parents, and Crispin soon gets an opportunity to save the day and be accepted. The humorous text moves along smoothly; expect kids to chime in with the line "but fire did not come out." Bowers's bug-eyed characters are appealing, expressive, and never scary, and the mix of spot art, single-page pictures, and spreads moves the story along effectively. The text emphasizes the positives of being unique, and the use of a dragon breathing a variety of odd and humorous things leavens the message. Not an essential purchase, but a pleasant addition.-Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
A young dragon who doesn't fit the mold still finds a way to save the day in this comically offbeat story about embracing individuality. Crispin Blaze can't wait to set alight the candles on his seventh birthday cake at the exact moment he's supposed to start breathing fire. When the moment of truth arrives, however, a torrent of whipped cream bursts from Crispin's mouth, much to the delight of his younger sister. Crispin's concerned parents take him to the doctor, but nothing helps, and Crispin runs away and finds a kindred spirit in a timid knight, who tries to coach the dragon. Readers will quickly realize that Crispin has a knack for breathing exactly what a situation calls for, whether it's bandages at the doctor's office, beach balls at the shore, or water when Crispin's father's fire-breathing gets out of control. Bowers's (Dream Big, Little Pig!) colorful bug-eyed dragons and Middle-Ages-meets-the-suburbs setting amplify the humor in Bar-el's (That One Spooky Night) prose, both of which make the message about embracing one's talents go down easy. Ages 3-up. Illustrator's agent: East West Literary Agency. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.