Dragons Love Tacos

dragons love tacos book cover

Written by: Adam Rubin

 

Illustrated by: Daniel Salmieri

 

Age Range: 4 and up

 

Publisher: Dial Books

 

ISBN: 9780803736801

 

 

Rundown

“Dragons Love Tacos” begins with a young boy telling the reader that dragons love tacos. Dragons also love parties. More than anything, dragons love taco parties! However, dragons really don’t like spicy salsa.

The young boy hosts a taco party and invites all the dragons he knows. To be on the safe side, he buries all the hot salsa he owns in the backyard (or so he thinks). The mild salsa turns out to be spicy, which makes the dragons and accidentally burn down the boy’s house.

The dragons help the boy rebuild his house, who just happens to have more tacos. Why? “Maybe they’re good samaritans. Maybe they feel bad for wrecking it. Maybe they’re just in it for the taco breaks. After all, dragons love tacos.”

So, why do dragons love tacos? We never actually find out, but it’s probably because tacos are awesome.

Critique

The story is funny. It makes me laugh. The premise is simple and completely ridiculous, but for this story it totally works.

 

The illustrations are fun and bright. All kinds of dragons are shown, and their love for tacos unquestionably strong. The illustration style worked well for the story being told. Fun, a little silly, and vivid.

 

The book poses questions, and though some of them are not completely answered, it created opportunities for the kids to use the illustrations to help them understand the answer. For many of the questions about why dragons like certain things, the book offers multiple possible solutions. I liked this as more often than not there’s more than one reason someone might like something.

I really liked the fact that my kids and I both seemed to enjoy the book equally. We were all excited to read the book and we all loved how it ended.

I didn’t enjoy it when the word “hate” was used to describe the dragons’ dislike for hot salsa. I think there are better ways to describe not enjoying something. Hate is a strong word. This may not bother everyone but I found it unnecessary.

Re-read Value

Here’s the metric I use: When you’re a parent and your child asks to read this book 3 or more days in a row, how likely are you to want to jump head first through a wall?

Re-read value is high for me. I really don’t mind reading this book multiple days in a row. The book has a good cadence to it. It’s a little ridiculous and a whole lot of fun.

Final Thoughts

It’s an entertaining book! Your kids will really enjoy it and I think you will too. It’s an easy read that is perfect for reading with your kids at bedtime. Give it a read and let me know what you think! I have more children’s book reviews and some of my own projects for you to check out as well. Enjoy!