Title: Not Your Typical Dragon
Written by: Dan Bar-el
Illustrated by: Tim Bowers
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I have to give my daughter credit for this find! One day, a couple of weeks ago, she came to me wanted to read this book out loud to me. Having time to spare and knowing she's had some trouble with her reading in school, I happily agreed to listen. This is the story she had chosen to read together.
What is it about?
This is the story of a young dragon named Crispin. But he is not your typical dragon for, unlike his friends and family, he can not breath fire. As a reaction to those around him, upset by his lack of fire breathing abilities, he decides to run away, resulting in making a new friend and learning some important lessons about what it truly means to be a "real dragon".
What did we think?
I have to be honest, at first I was really annoyed with the characters in this book using phrases like "real dragons" followed by "breath fire", as if those who don't are some how less or impostors. While, by the end of the book, I understood the reason for that, as it contributes to the lesson of the book (be happy with who you are and accept others who are different), I l still wish that, if they insisted on using such phrases, they would have addressed that Crispin's lack of ability to breath fire does not make him any less of a dragon or beneath those who can breath fire. However, I do have to admit that in the end Crispin is ultimately accepted and embraced for being the awesome and diverse dragon that he is.
I also didn't like how Crispin's family tried to change him or cure him just because he was different. As the mother of a child with special needs, we talk a lot about embracing differences and not trying to "cure" someone from being different so the fact that Crispin's parent's first reaction to Crispin's differences was to rush him to the doctor rubbed me the wrong way, though I feel like I also must admit that this event is part of the reason I really enjoyed parts latter in the story.
On the other hand, there are a number of reasons we liked this book and, as a result, chose to do a review about it. The first thing that stood out to me was the names. I loved just loved Crispin Blaze's name and even had to smile when we read that Crispin's sister's name is Ashley. I thought these were cute and appropriate names for dragons while still sounding accessible and just normal enough to work. My daughter, on the other had loves how cute Crispin is, even when he's struggling the most, which is what drew her in to begin with (and also happens to be why Crispin is her favorite character in the story).
I also liked that that Crispin found a friend who was also different, and struggling with it. Together they tried to learn to be "normal" or fit in, all the while, their differences complementing each other. I liked that after exploring their differences, they embraced them and returned to their families with new found self awareness and value.
Because my daughter's favorite character was Crispin, I'm going to focus more on my love for Crispin's father as my second favorite character. Although loved Crispin, finding him adorable and relate-able as a child who is becoming aware that they are different and struggling to come to terms with that while developing acceptance and self value, I really liked the character development of the Father. At first he was confused and unsure what to do with his son's differences. He struggled to see past the differences l but in the end very much embraced and loved Crispin for who he is and is proud to call Crispin his son, enthusiastically defending his son when he feels the it's necessary.
My affection for Crispin's father is greatly influenced by my favorite part of the story, or at least, one of them. This is the part in which Crispin returns to his family with his new friend at his side. When Crispin's knight friend's father insults Crispin, Mr. Blaze jumps to Crispin's defense, havoc raining down around them but he's unable to easily control his emotions to stop the havoc with out Crispin's help.
We so really really enjoyed the many attempt of Crispin to produce fire breath. I couldn't help but smile when Crispin produced, not fire, but cuddly teddy bears instead! My daughter, however, favored the first attempt that Crispin makes, producing whipped cream instead fire for the candles.
My daughter's favorite about this story, however, was that Crispin realized that even though he was different then the other members of his family and dragons, he was still an important and valued part of the family.
What do we rate it?
My daughter gives this story a...
5 out of 5 flames
I rate this book a
3.5 out of 5 flames
Have you read this story? Tell us what you think about it in the comments!
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