The Dream Dragon by Kathryn England

The Dream Dragon by Kathryn England
Illustrator: Valeria Issa
Published by Xist Publishing on February 19, 2015
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Picture Book
Pages: 32
Format: eBook
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A dragon protects a child’s dreams from nightmares in this picture book perfect for bedtime. Bedtime stories inspires a series of dream protectors for a little boy. The dream dragon keeps the nightmares away and is joined by dinosaurs, pirates, super heroes and more in the quest to keep nighttime safe.

I should maybe quit reading kids books. I picked up The Dream Dragon because it looked cute and I try to keep an eye out for books my nieces/nephews would enjoy. And it was a fine book, I just felt a little sad for the dragon.

The dream dragon protects the boy’s dreams. He scares away the bad dreams, but he also pushes the good dreams to the edge, because he wants to be the dream the boy remembers. Then, a t-rex comes along and defeats the dragon. It is the new protector, but then comes along a superhero, then a pirate, and each, in turn, stars in the boy’s dreams.

I like how the book first shows than not all monsters are scary. It also connects what we read about or learn about in real life to our dreams, which I think can be helpful for kids. At least it was when Amber was little. Knowing why she dreamed about something scary sometimes made it a bit better.

I felt a little sorry for the dragon though. In the end, he does show up in the girl’s dream, though, so I guess it’s okay.

The illustrations are simple, but cute. They’re colorful, mostly darker shades – browns, greens, blues, dark oranges.

Overall, it’s a nice bedtime story.