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Dragon Stew

by Steve Smallman
32p. 978-1-56148-695-3.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 3—The five Vikings in this rhyming story are bored with stealing cattle and engaging in battle. Their days of fishing in the dark for sharks and wrestling bears while wearing underwear are over. They want to do something new. When Loggi Longsocks suggests making dragon stew, they immediately head out to sea where they battle giant squid and sail through storms before arriving at Dragon Island. The creature they encounter there will surprise readers. Humor is used extensively in the text and illustrations. One Viking has a bird living in the branches of his helmet, while another carries a "pointy dragon poking thing" instead of a weapon. On the final pages, as the Vikings sit in the water learning a painful lesson about the consequences of being mean to a dragon, they ask a question many parents hear over and over again, "So, NOW what can we do?"—Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada
Five bored Vikings, seeking a bold new adventure, hunt for a dragon to turn into stew. They encounter an enormous--and enormously polite--creature whose patience is tested after being repeatedly poked. A little flame to the Vikings' backsides brings the hunt to a close. Wildish's silly illustrations include such details as burning bums and odoriferous socks. Smallman's text, though humorous, lacks fluidity.
Reviewed by Tanya Boudreau , Dec 01, 2010

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