Book Review: The Dragon and the Turtle...

The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari was a nicely illustrated story about two friends.  They attempt to camp out at the base of Mount "Sillymanborrow"...and although they take turns being scared of noises in the night, they do make it until morning.

This story was pretty long...my kids (3 & 5) had a hard time making it through it.  The dragon's name is Padraig...a very hard name to read...I found myself repeatedly wishing it was as simple as the turtle's name, Roger.  I actually looked it up....and decided it's PAW-DRIG or PAW-RIG depending on which region you're from.  Oui!

There was a touch of British throughout the story, "Cheerio, my good fellow, a capital idea" which was sort of fun.  My daughter and I giggled when we read the line, "The boys snuggled down.  Not because they were tired, but because sleeping bags with shiny outsides and fluffy insides are so inviting."  We'd just mentioned that about our sleeping bags the other day.

I really liked the back cover where they put Duet. 31:6, "Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid...God goes with you; he will never leave you." It gave some good ideas for teaching biblical truths from within the book.  They helped each other not be afraid.  They were kind to each other when they were frightened.

I also enjoyed the "Legend of Mount Sillymanborrow" a cute story about a silly man who needed to learn compass skills...that's tacked on to the back of the book.  It was the story that Roger was attempting to tell the entire night...but they kept being interrupted by scary things.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.