Breakfast on a Dragon's Tail

Picture Book, Imagination & Play, Story Writing It has been said that the most important character in any story is the reader. In this offering from writer and illustrator Martin Springett, the saying could not be truer. Breakfast on a Dragon’s Tail is not so much a story but a collection of “book bites” or first pages of many tales intended to entice readers to complete the stories themselves. Each two-page spread has a full-page illustration and the first page of a story, ending with some questions for the reader to consider as they finish the tale.

The first story involves a princess determined to go for a summer ride despite warnings that a great dragon is roaming the countryside. Other “bites” include a boy with a lost mother, a girl who confronts bullies in her dreams, a winter imp who keeps coming out to play in the summer and a girl who goes inside the world of her favourite book. Springett’s accompanying illustrations are done in a variety of styles with plenty of colour and enough detail to draw the eye of readers young and old alike.

While not a traditional picture book, Breakfast on a Dragon’s Tail is a rich, multi-level classroom resource. Pre-readers might complete the stories orally or by creating their own illustrations. In the primary and junior grades, the tales could be finished as poems, comic books, picture or chapter books or even scripts for drama. As an art project students could create their own cover illustrations. The possibilities for extension activities are plentiful.

Springett encourages his readers to use their imaginations as well as offering some concrete story-writing tips in the Author’s Note. As an added bonus, completed stories can be sent to the publisher to be posted on the website.