How to Hatch a Dragon is the first book in Nick Bland’s new Bunny and Bird series and is sure to captivate younger readers as they revel in the highly entertaining story, particularly as they discover the narrative that unfolds in the illustrations. I suspect some readers will become very vocal in an attempt to alert Bunny and Bird to all of the dramatic events unfolding.
In this story, Bunny and Bird are good friends, so much so, that Bunny buys Bird a dragon egg to thank him for being such a wonderful best friend. This gift leads to lots of questions, so it is a relief to discover it comes with an instruction booklet. This contains information about the two very different types of dragons which may hatch and they are polar opposites, increasing the suspense for Bunny and Bird. It could be a blue dragon which is slow to grow and makes an excellent pet that requires a diet of fish and chips. If it’s a yellow dragon it grows very quickly and in no time at all becomes a massive, wood eating, fire breathing dragon.
Bunny and Bird place the egg in a nest on a rock and pore over every page of the instruction booklet taking in all the information while questioning and pondering possibilities. They are so engrossed that they are oblivious to all of the action unfolding behind them. The illustrations tell much of the story and this clever technique will have readers actively engaging with this book.
This highly entertaining tale about friendship highlights the importance of observing and ‘reading’ the pictures and will be one that children and adults will want to revisit time and time again.