The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari

The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari is the second book in an interesting new series by Donita K. Paul, Evangeline Denmark and illustrated by Vincent Nguyen. I love the characters of Padraig the dragon and Roger the turtle, two really good friends indeed. In this adventure the two friends are camping out for the evening. They are having fun pretending that they are explorers on a safari and wondering what wild animals they will see in the morning or that they are hearing that night. The two friends have a series of fears, and troubles to overcome in their night camping out. But the two friends help one another and work together to overcome each one. The story itself doesn't make reference to scripture or to God as Christian children's books usually do but it does illustrate being courageous, concern for others and how to be a good friend. In the back of the book there is a discussion topic page with questions for you and your kids to discuss which does relate the story to scripture and God's teachings. The authors also share the scripture that this story was based on in this section, Deuteronomy 31:6. It's a longer read good for ages 5 & up. The use of British phrases seemed out of place and caused us to step back from the storyline as they are unfamiliar to my two but other than that it was a fun adventure to join in on. There's also a bonus silly tale in the back called 'The Legend of Mount Sillymanborrow' which is a little of a puzzler read. The watercolor illustrations are colorful, charming and imaginative. I'm looking forward to reading the first book in this series now, titled The Dragon and The Turtle.

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