GRANNY'S DRAGON
By Lisa McCourt,
Illustrated by Cyd Moore
Dutton Juvenile
August, 2008

 

 

A monster’s in your room . . . what do you do?
Call Granny’s Dragon, she’ll protect you!

Granny knows a thing or two about scary monsters: how to keep one busy (with pajamas and teeth brushing), and what to feed one (delicious monster stew). But what happens when Granny can’t be there? What happens if the monster goes invisible?

Not to worry, Granny’s got a plan for that, too—a very big plan. Monsters are no match for Granny’s dragon! From popular author Lisa McCourt and whimsical illustrator Cyd Moore comes this sweet story about the power of the imagination to comfort and soothe bedtime worries.

School Library Journal
A nameless narrator is sleeping over at her grandmother’s house, and she’s almost certain that there’s a huge monster in her room. But Granny has a solution for every “what if,” the penultimate one being that her “large but good-hearted dragon” can “go invisible” and protect the little girl from any monster. The humorous dialogue, while unremarkable, is effective and likely to appeal to children.

The real star here, though, is the artwork. The monster is distinctly monstrous without being overly scary. Moore uses saturated colors and includes full-bleed spreads, single-page pictures, spot art, and insets. In one of the most effective illustrations, Granny and the little girl appear in an inset on a spread of the dragon while the grandmother describes the creature. A couple of wordless spreads speak for themselves. McCourt and Moore imbue the book with their trademark humor. Libraries with fans of their earlier work, and those in need of reassuring monster-banishing stories, may want to add this title.–Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT

Kirkus Reviews
A very pastel take on the old I-don't-want-to-go-to-bed-because-of-the-monster routine. A bright-eyed little girl spending the night at her grandmother's is concerned about the fearsome creature in her room. Granny points out all the ways that she will keep the monster from her girl, but to no avail: Her granddaughter still frets. Finally, Granny brings out her secret weapon, a large pink-and-purple dragon that will stay by the child's bed all night long. Granny even makes sure that the dragon's teeth are brushed. The matter-of-fact, mostly dialogue-based text has the air of the real conversations kids and caregivers have about bedtime monsters, and the cheery, green-eyed dragon is a nice touch. Moore's very contemporary Granny wears rings and scarves and has a similar kind of layered grey haircut to her grandchild's ginger one. Sweet and fun. (Picture book. 3-8)

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