Book Review
by Haley Bono
A Gold Star for Zog by Julia Donaldson is such a fantastic children’s book. The story follows Zog as he goes through dragon school to learn all the things he must do to be a proper dragon. Along the way, he meets a young girl who fixes his bumps and bruises as he trains. In the end, the young girl is a princess who'd much rather be a doctor. The princess, the dragon, and a Knight decided to leave their former lives behind and travel as flying doctors.
The illustrations are adorable, with cute dragons full of different colors. The story is sweet and carries an important message to always reach for your goals. Just like the princess who wanted to be a doctor, it’s important to encourage our children to have big dreams and support them on their journey. There is also a beautiful message of friendship as the dragon, princess, and knight become unlikely friends throughout their journey. This is definitely a book worth adding to your shelf.
This is a new, popular book so there is an excellent chance you’ll be able to find it at your local bookstore, but if not you can buy it here on Amazon. You may also check out your local library to see if it is available.
Activity
Just as the little girl was able to help the injured dragons, here is a fun activity where you can make a dragon doctor bag.
Supplies:
Free Printable Template (there will be a download at the end of the post), something to color with, scissors, glue/tape/staples, blank page (optional).
Directions:
- SColor each template.
- Cut out the doctor's bag along the solid line (do not cut on the dotted line), and cut out the doctor’s supplies.
- Fold the doctor’s bag along the dotted lines, and glue/tape/staple the sides, but leave the top open.
- Now you can place all of your dragon doctor supplies into your doctor’s bag.
Different Variations:
- If you are working with older kids, you may use a blank piece of paper and have them draw their own doctor supplies. Have them think about what a dragon might need at a doctor's office, maybe special dragon wing warmers or a dragon lollipop, for after their visit.
Author: Haley Bono
Haley is a mom of two who loves reading and writing. She spends most of her time brainwashing her kids into loving books as much as she does. She does this by reading to them daily from her personal library that never seems to have enough room for the number of books she buys. When she isn't tormenting her family with literature, she enjoyes the outdoors and cooking weird food.