Dragon Loves Penguin
Written and Illustrated by
Debi Gliori
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing
Sometimes you can really get lost in a story that taps deep into your imagination and sense of wonder and conveys such a heartwarming tale that you could almost burst into tears as you reach the last page.
Debi Gliori is a master storyteller. She has a knack for producing the most immersive and involving stories. "Dragon Loves Penguin" is the touching tale of a little penguin called Bib who curls up on his mummy's knee one night to hear a bedtime story. Bib's favourite story is about the dragons and so Bib's mum settles down, snuggles tight and tells of the days when dragons freely roamed the earth. Slowly driven out of their homes, the dragons make their way to the realm of the penguins and hunker down atop a fiery snow-covered volcano for warmth.
One dragon isn't like the others, and when she discovers a lost egg, she vows to take care of it. Soon the egg hatches but it's not a dragon that emerges, it's a penguin - but the dragon loves it like it was her own.
The other dragons scoff and sneer but they stay together and the dragon is very protective of her offspring, despite how different she is and how she can't do all the things that the other dragon children do.
One day there is a huge rumble from the earth and the volcano erupts. Penguin spots the danger and urges the other dragons to fly before it's too late but poor penguin is left behind! Will no one save her from fiery doom?
We'll have to stop there in case we spoil too much of this wonderful tale. It's exciting, nail biting stuff and you owe it to yourself to discover the rest of the tale under your own steam.
Debi Gliori makes it look easy, to marry together the most wonderful stories with gorgeous artwork. We were already sold by the dragon on the cover long before we even read the story, but the content more than lives up to the wrapper in this case so wrap your peepers around this gorgeous children's book.
Charlotte's best bit: Little Penguin is SO CUTE! And what a genius idea to feature a story with penguins AND dragons
Daddy's Favourite bit: Superlative storytelling from Debi. Don't miss!
(Kindly sent to us for review by Bloomsbury Publishing)