Sam And The Dragon

I am always on the look out for new myths and legends. I found this little gem of a picture book that involves dragons on Kindleboards.com. I must say, it was amazing to see a picture book finally on the Kindle. Most of the pictures and text lined up fabulously. There might have been one line or two on an extra page. Plus, the story is a great read-over dragon oriented fable with a new take on modern heating systems.

The story starts out with a boy named Sam not wanting to join the annual migration of his family south for the winter. Instead, he chooses to stay home by hiding from his family. He finds out that winter is colder than he thought. If it wasn't for the warmth and friendship of his dragon friend, he surely would have perished.

Upon the family's return, the dragon Freness, has a new metal home in the basement. Metal was the most likely material not to burn from dragon fire. So, soon Sam tells his family how he kept warm for the winter, and soon they realize they can attach piping to all the rooms so Freness' fiery warmth can spread throughout the home. In the end, the town learns of the wisdom, and everyone is out getting a friend dragon to heat their house.

This delightful tale was illustrated and written by the author. It can be a read aloud for any child from 2-8 years old. I would especially recommend it to kids that are dragon obsessed. It is similar to old world fairy tales and legends that explain how things work, but instead, explains the modern device of indoor heating. Every child that hears the story will be happy that perhaps the dragon that lives in their furnace will always be their friend.

This is a really cute story and the illustrations look great if you have a color reader like iPad or Nook Color. Kids have really intense imaginations and I can just see a child, after experiencing this story, looking at her furnace and saying, "There isn't really a dragon in there... is there?"