Book Review: There's a Dragon in the Library by Dianne de Las Casas

Synopsis: Story time in the library had just come to an end when Max spies something amazing on one of the bookcases. It’s a large, speckled egg that with a loud CRACK breaks to reveal a small dragon. But the dragon doesn’t stay small for very long because he has a real appetitefor books. Max tells his mom, the librarian, and even a policeman, but will anyone believe him before the dragon gobbles up the library?

About the Author: Dianne de Las Casas is an award-winning author and recording artist. Her work has earned rave reviews from School Library Journal, Booklist, and Kirkus. She performs at schools, libraries, festivals, and special events and is a frequent speaker at national and state library and education conferences. her other books include The Cajun Cornbread Boy, Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, Mama’s Bayou, and The Gigantic Sweet Potato. She lives with her family in the New Orleans area.

About the Illustrator: Marita Gentryis a professional artist whoseartwork is displayed in galleries throughout Louisiana. An accomplished teacher, she is involved in several artist-in-residence programs each year, helping schools enliven their walls with murals. This is the fourth book Gentry has dreamed up with Dianne de Las Casas.

Review: Kiddo was instantly in love with this book upon the first reading. A. She loves the library, B. she loves books, C. she loves dragons and D. She has her own dragon in her 'library' (aka the bookshelf in her room). (That's actually Puff (the Magic Dragon) in the picture, but she's started just calling him 'Dragon', after the 60th viewing of How to Tame a Dragon- who knows why! LOL), And yes, he is hiding in the shadows, as "that's what the dragon in the book did too, so no one could see him". 

This is an adorable that combines things kids love with to to life experiences with adult not believing their far-fetched ideas. Kiddo gave me back quite a diatribe about why you should tell the policeman about when bad things happen so they can fix them, and that's why he actually went to look with Max. The end is very cute (I won't spoil the surprise) and Kiddo thought it was quite funny.

This is one of those books that is equally appealing to girls AND boys due to the wonderfully bright illustrations that illustrate the story. The author and illustrator are a perfect match! I highly recommend this book for all the dragon, book loving, library kids in your life!

Disclosure / Disclaimer:  I was offered this book, free of charge,from Pelican Publishing, for review on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to review the book.

ISBN: 9781589808447