KIDS BOOK REVIEW: The Dragon and the Turtle Go on Safari

The Dragon and The Turtle Go on Safari by Donita K. Paul and Evangeline Denmark stars friends Padraig the Dragon and Roger the Turtle. (These are the same friends we met in The Dragon and the Turtle which I reviewed here.) Padraig and Roger have decided that they want to camp out ALL night long at the base of Mount Sillymanborrow. At first they have fun, eating tasty, crunchy bugs and making s'mores. However, the fun starts to go away when it begins to get dark and the noises of the wild start to ruin their evening. The boys begin to believe that the sounds they are hearing are animals in the wild, such as rhinos, elephants and monkeys, while in reality they were common animals you might find in your backyard...an owl, cat, raccoon, etc. The boys share an adventure in the night when they help to save a small leopard (a kitten) from a tree. As the boys are finally deciding that it is too much for them to be out, dawn breaks and they realize they have been brave and have stayed outside ALL night long. Then they decide they need a nap before taking on any other adventures of the day.

I read The Dragon and the Turtle Go on Safari to my 4 year old. She had LOVED the first book, however she soon lost interest in this one. I believe that is because the vocabulary was more advanced and there wasn't as much real action as there was the use of imagination. All told, I was also disappointed in this story. It was boring to read and I think would be more of the liking for a 8-10 year old, not a 4-8 year old.

DISCLAIMER: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.