Genre or Category
Fantasy
Target Age Group
PreK – 3rd Grade
Summary
In a world where dragons scare villagers to collect gold there is a small dragon named Ember who struggles due to his size. People in the village consider him cute so he cannot collect any gold for himself until he happens to find a bakery that bakes delicious “gold” treats. He soon realizes some things are even more valuable than gold.
Justification
I knew I wanted to read a fantasy picture book and found this adorable book with a dragon sitting in front of a bakery window. I love dragons and this is the cutest little dragon I have ever seen. Does this tiny dragon bake pastries? Does he work in the bakery or dream of being a baker? I had to know. I selected this book purely for fun. I wanted a whimsical fantasy story and this one spoke to me.
Evaluation
For this review, I will be evaluating character, plot, and illustrations.
Ember—the tiny, adorable dragon that I can’t help but love. He is so cute that even the human characters in the book treat him like a little stray puppy when he tries to scare them with his roar. But his cuteness does not serve him well being a dragon, especially when they are meant to scare humans. It’s his differences that make him unique and loveable to the reader, but also serve him well when he finds the bakery. His hands that were too big for his small size are perfect for kneading dough and his tiny flame was perfect to light the stove. I love that Ember uses his differences to his advantage by finding something he is good at and loves doing. What a happy ending when someone finds their place in the world and where they belong!
This book has a magical plot where dragons are gold thieves and must scare humans to collect it. Ember wants gold but is not successful because he’s just too small and cute. Imagine if a clumsy puppy approached you on the street and gave you his biggest bark but it was only a tiny yelp. As fate would have it, on a mission to find gold he gets caught in a storm and ends up in front of a bakery. Will he be gifted in baking? Has he found his place in the world? Yes and yes! And the other dragons notice and want what he has. They offer him any amount of gold for just one of his delicious treats, and we learn that some things are better than gold.
The illustrations in this book are vivid and colorful and do an amazing job of showing Ember’s emotions and creating this fantasy world of dragons. The artist brought Ember to life—every emotion coming through in his sweet eyes. One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Ember finds the bakery on the stormy night and the illustrations play a huge part in that. It’s dark midnight blue all over the town but the bakery window seems to truly glow in the night sky. It illuminates a warm gold color giving a nod to the actual gold that dragons are so fond of.
Reference
Kurtz, D. E. (2024). The bakery dragon. Knopf Books.