This Book Is Not About Dragons

by Shelley Moore Thomas, Fred Koehler (Illustrator)

Meet a mouse narrator who stubbornly insists that this book contains absolutely no dragons—not even a claw nor a flame nor any large, pointy scales. Readers will know better—and enjoy being in on the joke—as a flock of dragons chase the mouse to the very end of the book within the book. Suspense builds humorously as the energetic text insists there are no dragons in this book, leading to a clever, unexpected ending. Clever artwork by Fred Koehler provides fun scenes to linger on and details to discover over multiple readings.

Genres: Picture Books, Dragons, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Humor, Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 13, 2016

Reviews

[Berls · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG the kids just loved this book. It's a great one for a read aloud because they can easily participate with the frequent repetition of "this books is not about dragons" and they loved pointing and trying to tell me where the dragons are (and I, of course, played dumb just like the mouse, telling the story).

At the end, the mouse changes the title to This book is about dragons. I loved that, because it worked perfectly for our lesson on titles - what they are, where they are, and how they tell us what a book is about.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The preschoolers I read this to got very involved with this one and were adamant that the book was indeed about dragons, pointing out what I was missing on every page.

[Kaylie Martling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kim told me to do this

[KC · Rating 1 out of 5]

Umm. No.

[Stay Fetters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received at BEA Chicago 2016!!
Nope! Absolutely not! No Dragons here! You must look elsewhere. Not sure what you heard, but nothing of that kind is lurking between the pages. Behind that tree, or in the sky or that fire?? Ummm.....
This is so freaking cute. And the look on that mooses face when he sees these dragons had me dying. I could totally see my niece making her mom read this story to her over and over and over again.

[Lila Lovebug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mommy read this book to Lila. She absolutely loved it and we ended up reading it three times in a row.

[Jessica Calaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 - 7 years

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book not about dragons. You will find no dragons on any of the pages in this book... That is what the mouse belives, but the kids know better. The book is great to read to your children, as they shout out where the dragons are.

Iwould recommend this book to parents, teachers, and dragon fans a like. Although, you will find "no" dragons in this books

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winner of the 2017-2018 Alabama Camellia Children’s Choice Book Award (Gr. K-1 Division)

Opening Sequence :
Today I have a story for you called This Book is NOT About Dragons. [Shows cover] What do you think it is about? [Children respond] What do you know about dragons? [Children respond] They are big and have claws. Do you see any dragons? [Children respond] Well, this book says it isn’t about dragons, but look here [turns to end page of book containing a small dragon]. What do you see? [Children respond: A DRAGON!] Do you think there will be dragons? [Children respond] Let’s find out…

Opening Moves :
● Encourages children to notice information in the illustrations by encouraging them to look for dragon features
● Draws attention to the illustrations by encouraging them to look for dragons on each page
● Activates background knowledge by asking what they know about dragons
● Foreshadows information in the text by showing them the back picture of a dragon
● Invites prediction from information in illustrations by showing them the picture of the dragon

*Note: I brought this book to the daycare that I work at so I could practice and the children LOVED it! They loved this book so much it was read three times throughout the day. We laughed really hard and had fun finding all of the dragons and the kids began picking up on what words were coming next. They loved it so much I ended up purchasing a copy of it for them!

[Peyton Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be perfect to read aloud to my students because of the humor. Students will think this is hilarious and try to show me where all the dragons are in the book, and I will agree with the mouse and go along with the story. There is a lot of repetition and moving text which also makes this a great read-aloud choice. The mouse decides to change the title of the book in the end. This would be a great story to introduce titles. This book can show that titles have to represent what the story is about and not be misleading. Great book!

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book is perfect for KG and first grade. Large colorful words fill the page, but don't obstruct the illustrations. And the little mouse taunts the children into turning and not turning the page. The illustrator leaves enough clues for children to talk to the narrator and to disagree with him.

[Serenity · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may try this as a readaloud when school starts again to see how my kids feel about it. They often enjoy books where the audience has privileged information the narrator is lacking, so they may find it amusing.

[Nina Levine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mouse declares loudly, clearly, and often that this book is not about dragons. And yet, in the shadows, in the corners, hidden in plain sight are hints that perhaps the mouse is missing the obvious.

Read this aloud, with feeling and plenty of time to examine the evidence.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books that just "works" on all counts. The illustrations are fantastic and the story made me laugh. I can see so many ways to share this book with kids.

[Laura McLoughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty entertaining

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mouse is in serious denial.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun for preschool ST.

[Eleanor W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reminded mom of "there's a monster at the end of this book" from when she was a kid.

[Syntha Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it, would be great in storytime with Again by Gravett

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book to read with toddler, family favorite.

[rsfd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book but apparently it is too scary for little kids. I WILL find a place to use this book.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny little story that was a good time during one of our family's readalouds

[Pamela Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute!

[Natalie Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gotta love a book that is extremely confident in what it's about.

Spoiler alert: this book is definitely not about dragons ;)

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am fully prepared to raise my rating if I read it to kids and they love it.

[Lynne Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such fun art!

[Arminzerella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readers are assured time and time again that this book is not about dragons. Therefore there can't be any dragons in this book. The narrator, a mouse, is happy to point out where readers are mistaken in identifying dragon-like shapes in the illustrations. No, that's a rabbit, no, that's a truck. Definitely no dragons here. Obviously, there are dragons. Everyone can see them. And by the end, the mouse is shaking in his boots. DRAGONS! Similar set up to "The Monster at the End of this Book," but goes on maybe a wee bit too long.

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mouse insists that this book is not about dragons, despite the evidence apparent on every page. I can't wait to use this for storytime. I can just picture the kids pointing and yelling at obvious signs of dragons. Definitely going to try this one in the future!
Edited 1/23/18: I used this one for storytime today and it. was. a. hoot. The kids, as predicted, pointed and shouted at every page, letting me know there was, in fact, a dragon there. The adults in the room were tickled at the kids' responses.
A fantastic book! 10/10, would use for storytime again.

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very funny book about dragons hiding on the page while the mouse claims there are no dragons. It is a tad too long for storytime.