There's a Dragon in My Closet

There's a Dragon in My Closet by Dorothea Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

THERE’S A DRAGON IN MY CLOSET

BY: DOROTHEA TAYLOR

PUBLISHED BY: DENENE MILLNER BOOKS/ SIMON & SCHUSTER

YEARY: 2017

GRADES: P-3

AGE: 3-8

PAGE: 30 pb 2 typed

View all my reviews

I find the art in this one to be very distracting while trying to study the writing.  So let's strip it down to just words.

P4-P5

There is a dragon in my closet, there’s a dragon, I swear! I run to tell my mom and

dad they don’t believe he’s there.

Act one over in a sentence.  Right out of the gate with have our problem.  It's not really an inciting incident but it's the driving force of the story for sure.  And our theme of "believability" is there too as he trying to tell us what he believes is true.  

P6-P7

He’s a kind and gentle dragon, that’s what I know for sure. One day when I was sick

in bed he left his own special cure.

While I slept he quietly crept leaving candy and a letter. He’s such a con-it was

signed, “Mom,” so I wouldn’t know any better.

P8-P9

Another day, I went out to play, forgetting to make my bed. I came home expecting a

mess but found a clean room instead.

P10-P11

Just last week I lost a tooth and I don’t have to be a scholar to know it was that old

dragon who left me that crisp, new dollar.

P12-P13

He’s mischievous, a little naughty, of this I have the proof. He plays in the mud in my

tennis shoes, that dragon, he’s such a goof!

P14-P15

Once while I was brushing my teeth, I saw him peeking through the door. He was

dancing under a sheet, a sight that made me roar!

P16-P17

Panicked, my mom rushed up the stairs to see what was the matter. At first she

thought I must have rabies my mouth was forming with toothpaste lather.

P18-P19

“It’s that silly dragon. “I giggled and gagged. “He’ll do anything for a laugh.” Mommy

just shook her head and signed and said “Hurry up and take your bath.”

P20-P21

Then there was “the cookie incident,” I swear I only wanted one. But that greedy

dragon ate the entire jar! And Mommy? Well, she was DONE!

Author Dorothea Taylor

We spent the middle Act learning about the antics of our closet 
dragon friend.  Now Act three sets Mama charging up the stairs to get to the bottom of this.

P22-P23

“We’ll get to the bottom of this,” she said .“I mean it, once and for all.”

She headed towards my bedroom, rushing swiftly down the hall.

She was a mom on a mission, she seemed almost in a rage. Excitement is bad for

dragons, not to mention a person her age!

P24-P25

She flung open my closet door, looking quiet frantic, I recall, when out from all the

clutter bounced a lone red rubber ball.

“See, I told you, mom” I quickly said. “The dragon wants to play catch.”

The ball was followed by a shoe, some toys and my pants with the big blue patch.

Pg 26-27

As she parted my clothes hanging on the bar, I felt myself get weak and pale. Right

there was a boot on top of my bat and on my shoe tree, a belt for a tail.

“This closet would give me bad dreams too, of monsters and goblins I’d dread. You

just imagined that dragon, son, he only exists inside your head.”

P28-29

That was a setup, a decoy, for sure, planted by the dragon for my mother. I have

learned one great, big lesson, if I have learned no other.

P30

I’ll never tell on the dragon, he remains my secret friend. Honoring that unspoken

code, he’s with me through thick and thin.

End

MY TAKE AWAY

    I really like this story. I   I like the theme message of imagination. I like that the little boy sticks to his belief that all his mother’s affection, and all his own naughty behavior all unexplained mysteries in his life can be blamed on his dragon.

    The rhyme was good though it kind though I did trip up in some places on the first read through.    I imagine once a child has fallen in love with the story the parent who is reading every night will be able to do so without much trouble.  

I’m impressed that the writer maintained an average of twenty five words per page along with a consistent rhythm. 

The author Dorothea Taylor has a degree in graphic design with a minor in journalism. She currently resides in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where she runs an award-winning design studio, T.P. Design, Inc.  If you like this book please let her know with a purchase from your favorite local book store!

 

    If you like these little breakdowns please comment.  Any feedback is appreciated.

And as usual I do not claim a copy right on anything in the Jellybell please support the brilliant author and illustrator if you like this story and buy their book!