Book Review: The Bakery Dragon
By Devin Elle Kurtz
Verdict:
Positively glowing, both visually and in story, this is a sweet, feel-good book with effortlessly layered themes of contentment, gratitude, and being different. Cozy, sweet, and perfect for the holidays and colder months.
What is it about?
Ember is a dragon, but not the kind anyone expects. It’s hard to build a fearsome reputation — or a respectable hoard of gold — when your roar is more of a sneeze, and your fire breathing elicits coos of delight from the villagers. But everything changes when Ember stumbles upon a kindly baker and discovers a different kind of treasure. As he learns to bake, he finds that the gold you earn is far sweeter than the gold you steal, and the gold you share is the sweetest of all.
Our take:
Large, inviting, with big, golden illustrations, this appealing picture book shows us a little dragon learning to take an unconventional path toward contentment. Instead of searching for ways to take, he chooses to be helpful in order to achieve his goals. He rethinks his perceptions. And he changes the perceptions of others by being kind and persistent.
Text is sufficient to form a thoughtful, layered story, but short enough to keep the pages turning. The vivid illustrations invite many re-readings, as do the many possible discussion topics. Parents and teachers can talk about greed, gratitude, being overlooked, trying too hard to fit in, accepting kindness, being an agent of change for others, sharing, and many other topics packaged in this brief picture book.
Perfect for:
The format and vivid imagery make this a good choice for group read-alouds. A range of ages will like this book, and the story’s tiny dragon hero has universal appeal. Everyone will relate to Ember, but while some children can learn to moderate their wants, others can learn to be a bit more bold in being different. Some can note the benefits of changing one’s habits. Others can see positive outcomes in persistence and letting others show them new things. All can see the very happy results of working together, instead of being selfish, and the contentment that comes from such sharing of good things.
This is also an excellent book for Thanksgiving and holiday reading, and a good opportunity to talk about what makes us grateful, happy, satisfied, and who we can thank for the good things in our lives.
Conversation starters
1. What do dragons like most? Why do you think that is? What do you like most?
2. What were the two kinds of gold in the story? Which is your favourite kind? Why?
3. What is better than trying to get more and more stuff? Is it better to be fearsome or helpful?
4. How does it make you feel to share? What is gratitude?
5. Would you like to learn how to make golden bread like Ember in this book?
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