About book Kenny & The Dragon [With Earbuds] (2008)
I picked this book up to read to my boys. We loved the pictures but I was disappointed in the book. The language is much too difficult for my young boys to understand. However, my biggest complaint is that it is the story, The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame which was first published in 1898. I found a copy at my parents house last summer and read it to my boys then. If I had known that this book was just a retelling of the old story I might not have been annoyed but since I didn't it felt like plagiarizing. And to top it off the rabbit is named Kenneth and the dragon is named Grahame obviously after the original author. So why isn't this stated on the back of the book or at least in the acknowledgments? I can't be the only one out there to have read the old version, right?! Two and a half stars.If your characters are going to be animals, have them act like animals, not humans. Otherwise, what's the point? In this book rabbits herd sheep. It's not a rabbit dominated world, they are ruled by a bison and what-not. Why are certain animals domesticated and some aren't? It's the common case of what I like to call "The Arthur Principle". Where height proportions and relationships between species are disregarded and replaced with with something not unlike the relationship between humans and animals (except humans don't exist in The Arthur Principle). It's most common example being the Arthur books/TV series. Which isn't a bad thing, I love the show Arthur. But I personally much prefer reading a book where the personalities of animals are explored not taking away from their natural behaviors. Beatrix Potter is a popular example of this. I could actually go on forever on this subject but I will stop here because this book wasn't so bad that I will bog it up with my over-thought opinions. Simply put:Not my favorite of his books but you might like it.
Do You like book Kenny & The Dragon [With Earbuds] (2008)?
This is a sweet story of friendship and loyalty for younger chapter book readers.
—kiera1
Amazingly written!Its got to be on your list to read next!
—brittneybrown05
