Joe and the Dragonosaurus
Joe and the Dragonosaurus is a story illustrated by Becka Moor, about children and their pets. At school, children are writing stories about their pets. Joe can’t have pets because of his mother’s allergies. He invents a fantasy creature that flies over the village, gobbles up bossy girls and can make itself huge or tiny. But a farm animal next door is dying. Can Joe do anything to help? Dyslexia friendly 6+
Available from Amazon.
Published by Little Gems, Barrington Stoke, 2015. ISBN 978-1-78112-444-4. Barrington Stoke is a dyslexia-friendly publisher.
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There are lots of things to love about this story… The book is so beautifully balanced and cleverly written that it was a joy to read.
KatyBoo1, Making Them Read
A project on pets
Joe and The Dragonosaurus begins with a new school project in Joe’s class. First the children can tell each other about their pets, then draw them and make models of them. Later, they’ll write up charts about the pets’ food, care and habits, and finally, bring them to school.
No wonder Joe is upset. He doesn’t have any pets because his mother is allergic to furry animals. So he makes one up, an amazing enormous flying dragonosaurus, with green scales and eleven legs. But, secretly, he’d rather have a real pet any day. And then, something very unexpected happens, when he sees a sick cow in the farm field next door. Joe can’t find the farmer, but he can’t leave the cow to die. Now he has a real project on his hands.
Why I wrote ‘Joe and the Dragonosaurus’
I live next to a farm, and am surrounded by animals. I love to watch the lambs in the fields, and the calves and horses being cared for by farmers. One of the fields is a campsite, and it’s always a huge pleasure to see how the visiting children react to the animals. They always want to stroke them or help to feed them, to collect eggs. Some of these children come from cities and have never seen farm animals before. So this book is for them.
But it’s also for children like three of my grandchildren, who can’t have pets because of their allergies. Yet they love to meet them and watch them, and to read about them. Most of all, it’s for children who love to let their imagination fly.
Little Gem Books
Many years ago I wrote Joe and the Dragonosaurus as a little story for an anthology called Ip Dip Sky Blue. The publishers Barrington Stoke read it and asked me if they could make it into an illustrated chapter book. They published it in their Little Gem series, and it’s one of the most beautifully produced books I’ve ever owned. Little Gems are everything the name suggests; sparkling little books, beautifully made, and things for children to treasure.
They use a special font on cream paper to make the books kind for dyslexic readers too, and they are all beautifully illustrated.
A delightful tale that shows that real life can be as interesting as the far reaches of your imagination.
BookloverJo
You could write a story about your own make-believe animal. Is it hairy, scary, scaly, furry, huge, tiny, purry, growly? Make a model of it.
Charming countryside tale about the bond between children and animals.
Lovereading4kids
If you enjoyed reading ‘Joe and the Dragonosaurus’…
You may also enjoy my other books published by Barrington Stoke: Blue John and Bella’s Den, or my other animal stories Willa and Old Miss Annie and Tilly Mint and the Dodo (part two of Tilly Mint Tales).
Barrington Stoke’s Little Gems books are absolutely gorgeous! They have such strong visual appeal that any child will be encouraged to pick them up. They are chunky little books with excellent artwork on the covers; the cover flaps conceal puzzles for children to enjoy and the books have high quality illustrations throughout. This is a lovely countryside tale about the bond that forms between children and animals.
Parents in Touch