Dragon Night

by J.R. Krause

A boy and his dragon embark on a dazzling nighttime journey in this heartwarming friendship story about facing fears and helping others.

Georgie is afraid of the night. It’s too dark with the lights off. Too quiet with everyone asleep. And being alone makes everything worse. The dragon is afraid of the knight. After all, the knight carries a heavy sword, and he always wants to fight. The dragon knows just what to do to help Georgie overcome his fear, and the two set off on a unforgettable magical adventure. But when the morning comes, the dragon is still afraid of the knight. How can Georgie help his friend? With kindness and empathy–and a little creativity–maybe Georgie can work some magic of his own.

Genres: Picture Books, Dragons, Fantasy, Childrens, Friendship, Storytime, Fiction

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

J. R. Krause is an award-winning animator and designer. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, he has worked on many television shows, including The Simpsons and Futurama. He lives in Southern California with his family. To learn more, visit jrkrause.com

Reviews

[Spencer Orey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gentle friendship story with some wordplay that's probably too advanced for my kid. But my kid loved the book overall and we read it a few times in a row.

I appreciated that there's a real emphasis on empathy and helping your friends to feel safe. There's also a nice focus on learning to see the world from a different perspective.

And the book makes a very good nonviolent point about not wanting to fight, which from what I can tell is still pretty rare.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was very sweet. I love the interaction between Georgie and the Dragon, and Georgie's good thinking.

Library copy

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story how a boy and dragon have a lot in common.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story with an emphasis on friendship and real empathy. It's got great illustrations and would make a nice read aloud. The main wordplay (knight vs. night) will be totally lost on the target audience, but it's a good group read aloud anyway to start a discussion of courage, friendship, empathy, or just enjoy a story about dragons!

[Shaye Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute little dragon story with a play on words. The dragon in the story is afraid of the knight. While the boy, Georgie, is afraid of the night. Together they attempt to resolve one another’s fears. And after their adventure, we’re met with a sweet, happy ending. The artwork was rendered with brush, pen, and ink on cotton rag paper and then colored digitally.

For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!

[Colona Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book. Georgie is afraid of the night, and the dragon is afraid of the knight. One night when Georgie goes to bed, a dragon pops out of one of his books. Together they conquer their fears. The dragon reminds Georgie that without the dark you would not see the stars. In return Georgie draws a book that has a friendly knight. Now, every night they read the book together.

~April

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story. Once the child (the reader) understands the difference between night and knight, the story is easy to follow. This is a story that elicits empathy. It has a soft feel to it. I just loved it.

[Raven Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story about being afraid, the meaning of night & knight and friends. Grand imagination tale. Unique illustrations

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story about friendship, overcoming fear, and finding good things in unexpected places.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy who is scared of the dark night meets a dragon out of one of his story books who is scared of the knight too. The two set off on a flying journey to explore their fears together, thinking they are talking about the same thing. They find a carnival where night has been driven away but it has a castle. There is a city street with bright lights and no night, but there is a big king. The stadium even has a knight mascot. When the two realize they are talking about different fears, they work together to face them. The dragon helps the boy realize that dark brings the stars out. The boy then creates a new story for the dragon where the knight doesn’t try to hurt him at all.

Krause tells an empowering story of facing one’s fears with a friend in this picture book. His use of a homophone to start the misunderstanding adds to the fun of the story with an element of grammar and a reason for two unlikely beings to connect. Readers may expect the story to end when the boy begins to accept the night, but it continues with a more complicated solution for the dragon. The fact that the child thinks of the solution and creates it himself is a key to the success of this story.

Krause is an animator of shows like The Simpsons, so it is no surprise that the art in this book is compelling. Done in thick lines and limited colors, it has a vintage feel that makes for a great bedtime story. The art is deftly done, the illumination of the boy and the dragon throughout is skillfully and dramatically done.

Let your bedtime take flight with this winning read. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story here hinges on the fact that "night" and "knight" sound alike, and it would quickly wear thin if it weren't for the delightful friendship that forms between a young boy and a dragon from a story book. The solution to both of their problems that eventually comes out was a real treat, and the boy figuring out how to write a story that helps to do this is an excellent way of supporting the creation of stories and drawings. Some of the best touches were the baseball team called "The Knights," the difficulties in hiding a dragon around the house, and the dragon teaching the young boy the good parts of nighttime.
I think this could be used as a read-aloud, but then you would have to be careful about the night/knight confusion. It's obvious on a page which is which, but if you read it out loud, then it wouldn't be, which would only contribute to the inherent confusion in the story. So, it might be better to read to an individual child, or for an early reader to read to themselves.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragon Night by J.R. Krause. PICTURE BOOK G.P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin), 2019. $17. 9780525514244

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) – ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

One night as Georgie is laying in bed, scared of the dark night, his favorite book (St. George and the Dragon) flies open and a dragon steps out. The dragon is scared of the knight from his book and together Georgie and the dragon fly around trying to get away from their fears. Eventually, the two realize that they are afraid of two different kinds of night/knight and they help each other overcome their fears.

This book is fantastic. I love the illustrations and the sweet relationship between Georgie and the dragon. The play on the homophones is fun and this makes for a great bedtime read.

C. Peterson
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Avery A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Fantasy
Awards: None
Audience: ages 3-7
A. Dragon Night is an animal fantasy because the dragon is able to talk throughout the whole story.
B. In this book, the author encourages the reader to suspend disbelief within the dragon character. From the beginning, the dragon is talking to Georgie.
C. This fantasy has a setting that can be described as magic in the real world. Georgie is a normal little boy with typical fears, but he becomes friends with a talking dragon. Together they help each other with their fears. Therefore, the magic consists of the dragon.
D. The message the author conveys in Dragon Night is that we all have similarities despite our differences and through unexpected friendships, we can help each other overcome our fears.

[Traci Van Wagoner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Georgie is afraid of the night. The dragon is afraid of the knight. Ha! A fun play on words and an emotional journey with a boy and a dragon flying through the dark night searching for a place where they both won’t be afraid. Morning comes and the dragon has helped Georgie learn to not be afraid of the night, but — here’s the really emotional part — the poor dragon is still afraid of the knight and doesn’t want to leave Georgie and go back into the book from whence he came (George and the Dragon). Georgie’s empathy and creativity create the perfect solution. My heart melts at the emotional connection and learning to see from another's point of view.
As a dragon lover, this book has capture my heart.
The art is an interesting punchy style that grew on me as the adventure moved along.

[Darren Garnick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confronting your fears is a lesson we are never too young to relearn. This is a fun and relatable picture book that my young daughter has already enjoyed with me a few times. I personally love the unexpected baseball-related plot twist and the artwork is pretty intriguing. I heard the author talk about his illustration style on a podcast, and it turns out he made separate monochrome drawings (7 different colors) and then layered them in Photoshop. The result is a warm glow at bedtime!

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful story with very interesting illustrations that suit the mood of the story perfectly.
Georgie is a little boy who is afraid of the NIGHT. When a dragon steps out of one of his books, he realizes the dragon is afraid of the KNIGHT. But, at first they don't know they aren't talking about the same thing. The dragon helps Georgie to stop being afraid of the night, and Georgie comes up with an idea to help the dragon.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this one to my niece over a FaceTime call, so I kept adding "with a K/an N" to differentiate between night and knight, since she couldn't really see the text to get it by looking. And then it took me more pages than I want to admit to realize that I was still saying "with an N" when they were talking about "with a K." Other than that entirely-my-problem issue, no complaints.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy is afraid of the dark night. The dragon in his book is afraid of the knight. Sounds similar, but not at all the same! Georgie's city has a different kind of (carnival) castle, and (candy) king. Together, the two journey together over the town, learning more about their fears from each other, becoming less afraid. Calm-colored book perfect for bedtime.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the style of this book. I'm a sucker for books about kids with a monster/dragon/giant spooky friend. A dragon comes out of a storybook and keeps a boy company who is afraid of night. The dragon himself is afraid of the "knight" from his story, so the boy writes him a new story with a nicer knight. The illustration of the dragon's scales was really cool.

[Carol V · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dragon is afraid of the knight in a book that the dragon is in. The child is afraid of the night. They whisk away together on a fantasy ride and help each other face their fears. Problem solving is an important thing we teach children at an early age. This book offers great solutions for the little boy and his dragon. The illustrations are magical!

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy is afraid of the night and a dragon (which comes out of a book) is afraid of the knight. It takes them a while to get the night/knight thing straightened out. They spend the night together, flying over the world.

The dragon is afraid to go back in his book, so the boy draws him a new one with a nice knight who wants to play catch.

[Bmack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely book! George is afraid of the dark and one night his favorite book (St. George and the Dragon) falls to the floor, opens up and a dragon comes out! They spend a magical night flying around together looking for the night/knight. (Dragon is also afraid of the knight!) So love the ending too!

[Hannah Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Georgie is afraid of the night and Dragon is afraid of the knight in the story he lives in. After Georgie and Dragon figure out they are talking about two totally different things, they begin to help each other with their fears. I don’t want to give too much away, but their solutions for the scary night/knight are considerate, thoughtful, and ingenious. I also thought the illustrations were magnificent. The dragon’s face is so expressive. I felt such a wonderful connection with the dragon and have been enjoying ruminating the possibility of characters strolling in and out of their stories.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a dragon who steps out of a book and a boy who goes on an adventure during the night. The dragon does not go back in the book because the dragon thinks the knight hates him. I would use this book as a read aloud and stop on certain pages. I would put sticky notes on certain pages and ask questions like: “Where is the castle?” “Why is the dragon afraid of the knight?”

[Engel Dreizehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

In semi monochrome (blues for the night and reds/yellows for the daylight), the narrative of a dragon and a boy takes flight. I like how word play is used...the boy is scared of the "night" while the dragon is scared of the "knight" plus the trip into the night skies is pleasant to behold.

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about how a boy is afraid of the night and a dragon is afraid of a knight. They run away from their fears together and overcome their fears together once they understand they are afraid of different things. This would make a good bedtime story for an elementary child.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is incredibly sweet and a little recursive. It's lovely.

George is afraid of the night, and the dragon in one of his books is afraid of the knight. It takes them a good chunk of an adventure to figure this out, but then they return home and help each other with their fears.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sweet and a cute play on "night" vs. "knight" with a nod to the power of storytelling/writing. A good bedtime read aloud, especially for a precocious preschooler or kindergartner who is afraid of the dark but I can't see it working in a library storytime setting.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little story based on some fun wordplay (afraid of the night/knight) that was prooooobably not quite enough to last for an entire book, but it still worked out. Lots of good emphasis on feeling safe, not being afraid of the dark, and helping friends out.

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the play on words of being afraid of the night/knight. I love how at the end, the dragon realizes he has to go back into the book and the boy helps by creating a kind knight. What a great message to teach children to go back strong and positive into adversity.