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Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Picture Book Monday - A review of Me and my Dragon: Scared of Halloween

Halloween is coming up in a few days and I have the perfect Halloween picture book to share with you. In 2011, David Biedrzycki released a book about a boy and his pet dragon. Me and my dragon became one of my favorite dragon picture books. Now the same little boy and his dragon are back, and this time the little boy is trying to celebrate Halloween, but he is finding it rather challenging.

David Biedrzycki
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Charlesbridge, 2013, 978-1-58089-658-0
There is a boy out there, somewhere, who has a very unusual pet. His pet is a dragon, and the boy and dragon “like all the same things.” They love birthday parties, parades, and fireworks. There is one thing that the dragon does not like. At all. The dragon does not like Halloween. Actually, to be quite honest, the dragon is scared of Halloween. This is a big shame because the boy loves Halloween with its costumes, trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, and candy eating.
   The boy does his best to convince the dragon that mummies, zombies, werewolves and other creepy creatures are not real, but the dragon is still scared. Perhaps if the dragon has his own costume he will realize that Halloween is fun.
   It turns out that finding the right costume for a dragon is not easy. A mummy costume uses up too much toilet paper, a zombie costume is too scary, and a tutu is too flammable. Who knew that celebrating Halloween could be so complicated.

   In this second Me and My Dragon book, David Biedrzycki brings back his wonderful boy and dragon duo with deliciously funny results. It is a joy to see how the boy and his pet solve their problem and how their Halloween celebration turns out. What makes this story so wonderful is that the dragon is very much like a child in many ways; expect that he can fly and set things on fire with one puff!

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