An Unusual Friendship

The Dragon and the Turtle is a wonderful book about an unusual friendship between a dragon named Padraig and a turtle named Roger. It is written by a mother and daughter team, Donita K. Paul and Evangeline Denmark and is illustrated by Vincent Nguyen.

First let me say that as I was beginning to write this review, my five year old son asked what I was doing and I told him that I was writing a book review and he asked what that was. I said, "I have to tell whether I liked the book or not." He saw what book I had in my hand and said, "I love it! It's a great book about friends."

The book is for pre-school children or children in early elementary school. It is very appropriate because this is the age that they are really learning about friendships and maybe even establishing a friendship that may last a lifetime.

Padraig puts off doing some things that he wanted to do for himself to help Roger, a turtle he just met. Roger is lost and needs help finding his way back home. Padraig tries his best to help Roger. If you read between the lines, it is also a book about patience. As Padraig tries to help Roger, he has to try many many times before he is successful.

The book also teaches about the 5 senses. Roger describes his house to Padraig by telling what it looks like, what it sounds like, what it smells like, what it feels like and what it tastes like.

In the story, Roger's house smells like cookies, Chocolate Chip Snappers to be exact. When the friends finally find Roger's house, Roger's mother gives the two friends some Chocolate Chip Snappers. As an added bonus, there is a recipe for the Chocolate Chip Snappers. (If you made a batch of these and while they were in the oven baking you read this story to your child, what a great story it would be. Your children would be able to experience their five senses the whole time.)

I recommend this book for younger children. It is wonderfully illustrated with colorful and delightful pictures, the story is very appropriate for the age it is written and my children loved it. What more could a mom want from a children's book?

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review, but the review and opinions are my own.