FIRST Wild Card Tour: The Dragon and the Turtle Go on Safari

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card authors are:

Donita K. Paul

and

Evangeline Denmark

and the illustrator:

Vincent Nguyen

and the book:

The Dragon and The Turtle Go on Safari

WaterBrook Press (January 11, 2011)

***Special thanks to Staci Carmichael, Marketing and Publicity Coordinator, Doubleday Religion / Waterbrook Multnomah / Divisions of Random House, Inc. for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

A former schoolteacher, Donita K. Paul is the best-selling author of the Dragon Keeper series, The Vanishing Sculptor, and Dragons of the Valley.

Visit the author's website.



Evangeline Denmark likes to turn bedtime stories into picture books. She lives in Colorado with her engineer husband, their two noisy boys, her author mom, and Willie, a cattle dog who tries to herd the entire family into one room.

Visit the author's website.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR:

Vincent Nguyen has illustrated numerous children's books and is also a part of the art departments for 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios.


Product Details:

List Price: $11.99
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (January 11, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 030744645X
ISBN-13: 978-0307446459

AND NOW...THE FIRST FOUR PAGES...press the pictures to better view them:

My Thoughts and Review:
Padraig the Dragon and Roger the Turtle are camping outside in the dark. They pretend to be "safari" explorers. Their imaginations run wild. Exaggeration accompanies their fear. However, their friendship and their compassion shine through and boost their courage. When I read the book to my son, I found it a little confusing in the beginning but it turned out to be a silly, fun book. Unfortunately, the authors use a few big words that young children may not understand. Moreover, the story seems long and thus doesn't hold children's attention very well. The illustrations are cute but mostly dark because the setting is nighttime. This book includes a bonus story (The Legend of Mount Sillymanborrow) and conversation starters for discussion with your child(ren).

Download the Roger the Turtle coloring template.
Download the Padraig the Dragon coloring template.
The Dragon and the Turtle Go on Safari Contest Rules (ends Feb. 11, 2011)
Creative Cakes Contest ends Feb. 28, 2011.