This is a picture book for kids aged 4-6, with charmingly simple illustration by Daniel Salmieri. It starts with that simple statement, “dragons love tacos,” but then weaves in a caveat that builds gentle tension. Dragons might like tacos, but they don’t want anything spicy. In fact, spicy food makes them flame uncontrollably.
The text weaves in several important threads. Parties! Everyone loves parties. Spicy foods? Not so much. Many kids will empathize with the dragons who can’t stand any spicy foods.
More than that, kids at the target age are just becoming social. Learning that you can invite friends over is a big expansion of horizons, yet it also makes you take the emotional leap to understanding that another person’s wants and needs may not be exactly the same as your own wants and needs.
Even if you don’t have young kids or grand-kids, check this out at your local library to see how Rubin creates drama without getting bloody and nasty. Recommended for kids 4-6.
[…] more often a child character is coping with draconic behavior. Some that I’ve reviewed are Dragons Love Tacos (2012) by Adam Rubin, and Dragon Was Terrible (2016) by Kelly […]