Not Your Typical Dragon

A young dragon who doesn't fit the mold still finds a way to save the day in this comically offbeat story about embracing individuality. Crispin Blaze can't wait to set alight the candles on his seventh birthday cake at the exact moment he's supposed to start breathing fire. When the moment of truth arrives, however, a torrent of whipped cream bursts from Crispin's mouth, much to the delight of his younger sister. Crispin's concerned parents take him to the doctor, but nothing helps, and Crispin runs away and finds a kindred spirit in a timid knight, who tries to coach the dragon. Readers will quickly realize that Crispin has a knack for breathing exactly what a situation calls for, whether it's bandages at the doctor's office, beach balls at the shore, or water when Crispin's father's fire-breathing gets out of control. Bowers's (Dream Big, Little Pig!) colorful bug-eyed dragons and Middle-Ages-meets-the-suburbs setting amplify the humor in Bar-el's (That One Spooky Night) prose, both of which make the message about embracing one's talents go down easy. Ages 3-up. Illustrator's agent: East West Literary Agency. (Feb.)

PreS-Gr 2--This tale breathes a whiff of didacticism into its sweet rumination on being different. On his seventh birthday, Crispin Blaze is supposed to breathe fire for the first time, but whipped cream comes out of the little dragon's mouth instead. At the doctor's office, Band-Aids emerge, and whenever Crispin tries to breathe fire, he fails. Afraid of disappointing his family, he runs away and he is befriended by a knight charged with fighting a fire-breathing dragon. When Crispin becomes homesick, the two are welcomed back by the youngster's parents, and Crispin soon gets an opportunity to save the day and be accepted. The humorous text moves along smoothly; expect kids to chime in with the line "but fire did not come out." Bowers's bug-eyed characters are appealing, expressive, and never scary, and the mix of spot art, single-page pictures, and spreads moves the story along effectively. The text emphasizes the positives of being unique, and the use of a dragon breathing a variety of odd and humorous things leavens the message. Not an essential purchase, but a pleasant addition.--Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT