I read a lot of books aimed at a younger age group, but very seldom do I get down among the very littlest readers or books to be read aloud to even littler kids. This is one of the littlest and lightest books I have read in a long time. But it was also, in 2015, the first book I was allowed to review pre-publication through the NetGalley website. It was also the first time I successfully downloaded a book into my Kindle for pre-publication review. It felt like I had turned a new page as a book reviewer, only I didn’t touch any actual pages.
Ruthie Briggs-Greenberg is a painter and sometimes book illustrator who both wrote and illustrated this book. I think this was the first book she authored.
In a few rhyming lines, decorated with adorable paintings, it tells the story of a lonely dragon who doesn’t fit in with her kind. One day, while watching some children play alongside a castle moat, she sees a boy fall into the water and dives to save him. This act of kindness brings Felicity her first taste of friendship and feelings of belonging.
It is a little light, gentle story that shows how being nice to others can bring more happiness than being mean. The rhymes aren’t perfect, and the story isn’t a conventional blockbuster, but in its brief and direct way it could become the go-to book for children struggling to fit in, maybe helping steer them away from the path of bullying at an early age.
Interested? Buy a copy here.
