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elysahenegar's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book! My daughter and I read it together, curled up in a chair one morning. This delightful book is filled with wisdom about fear and difficulty, but it's presented lightly and with a bit of humor. The dragon metaphor lends the prose plenty of good humor while delivering solid advice and describing the hard truth about the unexpected trials that come into our lives suddenly and feel so overwhelming. I found myself nodding my head as Ben, the main character, describes what happens when, "Dragons show up when you least expect them. You turn around...and there they are."
sab_rose's review against another edition
2.0
I appreciate that this book is meant to help children understand their anxieties but I think it has missed the mark.
One of the coping mechanisms it suggested was to try and make jokes with them (the dragons). This rubs me the wrong way because it really isn't a healthy way to deal with them. To make jokes about your anxieties means to down play them. That might work for some people but for others it can lead to not handling their anxieties at all.
I also didn't like how it said that these feelings just go away. What if they don't? Really didn't like this part at all.
Nice try but its a swing and a miss for me.
One of the coping mechanisms it suggested was to try and make jokes with them (the dragons). This rubs me the wrong way because it really isn't a healthy way to deal with them. To make jokes about your anxieties means to down play them. That might work for some people but for others it can lead to not handling their anxieties at all.
I also didn't like how it said that these feelings just go away. What if they don't? Really didn't like this part at all.
Nice try but its a swing and a miss for me.
bbckprpl's review against another edition
4.0
Reviewed Here for CBR 13 .
In short: yes, thank you. Understanding anxiety/dragons FTW.
Longer: You’ve Got Dragons broke it down piece by piece
illustration of a boy facing dragons, text at bottom reads you've got dragons
The Dragons
“Your heart thuds & Your knees shake & Your head whirls & You feel hot & Cold &
You can’t breathe & Your tummy hurts & You can’t believe It’s happening to you,
but it is. It really is. You’ve got dragons.”
“You ignore them & run away from them &
You hide from them & You pretend they’re not dragons &
You shout at them & You don’t want to turn out the light &
you pay attention to them & you tell them jokes &
you can’t think of anything else then suddenly….
… something feels different.”
This book never once mentions anxiety, but wow, these dragons: They show up everywhere! And man, are they hard to manage, especially at first! And then, once you talk to some people who know things about dragons and how to mange them, what do you know? They start to get easier for you to manage too!"
In short: yes, thank you. Understanding anxiety/dragons FTW.
Longer: You’ve Got Dragons broke it down piece by piece
illustration of a boy facing dragons, text at bottom reads you've got dragons
The Dragons
“Your heart thuds & Your knees shake & Your head whirls & You feel hot & Cold &
You can’t breathe & Your tummy hurts & You can’t believe It’s happening to you,
but it is. It really is. You’ve got dragons.”
“You ignore them & run away from them &
You hide from them & You pretend they’re not dragons &
You shout at them & You don’t want to turn out the light &
you pay attention to them & you tell them jokes &
you can’t think of anything else then suddenly….
… something feels different.”
This book never once mentions anxiety, but wow, these dragons: They show up everywhere! And man, are they hard to manage, especially at first! And then, once you talk to some people who know things about dragons and how to mange them, what do you know? They start to get easier for you to manage too!"
secre's review
5.0
Yes, I do apologise profusely, I've regressed to being a child again, which is why I'm reviewing a book aimed at 6 year olds! Or it could be because I needed a present for my younger foster brother...the first idea is more interesting, I'll stick with that! Either way, whichever one you chose to believe, this is a children's book that I was well impressed with.
Boring Stuff
Title: You've Got Dragons
Author: Kathryn Cave, Nick Maland
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books, 2002
Price: £4.99 supposedly, but £12.99 on Amazon
ISBN: 0-340-85158-9
The text is done by Kathryn Cave and the illustrations by Nick Maland
Age Range
Although the book is aimed at an age range of about 6 years old, it can be used for just about any age group, including adults (that was more to make myself feel better!). The younger the child, the less they will understand the meanings behind the book and the more they will believe that the dragons are real (I'll come to that in a bit), but that doesn't mean that they won't enjoy it as a book of fantasy. The older the child (or adult) the more they will understand the meanings behind the dragons, which means that it could also be used as an educational resource to discuss issues that children might have.
Text
The text itself is fairly simple and I think that this is what makes the book so endearing. It starts with, 'Dragons come when you least expect them. You turn around...and they're THERE.' The book goes on to describe the butterflies in your stomach, the fact that you don't deserve to have dragons, how you can pretend that they don't really exist, how everybody (even adults) have dragons, how you can't seem to get away from them, how you make silly mistakes because of them, how you try to deal with them...all of this in simple, childlike language: 'When you've got dragons, you need lots of hugs.' It's a text which children can easily understand and get to grips with, without being overly patronising. The book isn't very long, and all of the text is in large letters, so it won't take too long for you to read and yet the language and text size is so that a slightly older child could read it with you.
Meanings
I think most people will by now have twigged that the book is about fear rather than about real life dragons, however much a young child may think so. It's about the fact that all of us do have a dragon that worries us and keeps us up at night. The actual reason that I'd bought it is because my younger foster brother is a...difficult child. He's been through far more in his short life that any child should have to and this makes him very difficult to deal with on a lot occasions. I had the bright idea that it might help our foster parents to get him to discuss things with them that worry him, and quite miraculously, it worked...this is very rare for any of my bright ideas, usually they are spectacular failures. Whenever he's worried or upset about something he can now talk more easily about it because he now has a name for it; 'Mummy, my dragons are back again'. The dragons can stand for any kind of fear whether it be big or small, and although it may seem like they will never go, they will eventually, as the book states, you will wake up and they are gone, it just takes time. My foster brother found it very reassuring to find out that adults also have dragons, and they have all been 'frightfully good'. This meant that it wasn't his fault and never had been, because if all these adults also had dragons then it was ok for him to have them.
Educational Resource
I'd mentioned before that I felt this book would be useful for education, and the reason that I believe this is because it is a brilliant starting point for children to be able to talk about their worries and fears. This would obviously works best with primary school students, in which you have 'circle time', and this idea of dragons could be used for any topic that you wished to discuss in class, from bullying to drugs to work issues. Having seen the effect that this simple book has had on my foster brothers ability to discuss his fears and issues, I believe that it could quite easily be used by teachers and parents for the definite benefit of any child. It's reassuring to children, allows them to speak without being fear of being laughed at, as well as giving some tips on how to deal with your own dragons.
Illustrations
These are very nicely done illustrations by Nick Maland, who has a knack for the brightly coloured illustrations that appeal to children, while keeping the eye for detail that will appeal to older children and adults. He has also put the illustrations in different sizes, so some take the whole page while others only illustrate a single sentence, which means there are three of them per page. He also fits humour into the illustrations as well - for instance there is one picture which shows a dragon eating a boy's maths tutor, that made my foster brother giggle and ask about his own teacher! The illustrations perfectly, some of them are quite scary (my foster brother covered his eyes at some points), others are sweet or funny.
Problem Page
As far as the humour in the book goes, the problem page nearing the end of the book is one of the best parts. This is a very light hearted page in which you get 3 problems about dragons which are written into Ben and he then answers them, my favourite by far is from Dad:
'Dear Ben,
I have been trying to hide from my dragons for 53 years, 8 months and 4 days. Can you recommend a foolproof hiding place?'
Yours hopefully,
Dad.'
'Dear Dad,
Try under the stairs. It's more comfy than under the bed. (I always wondered what you were doing there.)
Your loving son,
Ben.
P.S Say 'Hi' to your dragons when they find you. They will.'
Personally, I felt that this was absolutely brilliant!
Conclusion
My views on this must be clear from the review that I've given; this is an amazing book for adults and children alike which can aid discussion about fear and worries, as well as being reassuring and allowing children to realise that grown ups get scared and worried too. Grown ups have dragons, just like children. No matter how old or young, children and adults alike, this is a book that is a must have for every person's bookshelf.
Summary: Dragons are a part of everyday life
Boring Stuff
Title: You've Got Dragons
Author: Kathryn Cave, Nick Maland
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books, 2002
Price: £4.99 supposedly, but £12.99 on Amazon
ISBN: 0-340-85158-9
The text is done by Kathryn Cave and the illustrations by Nick Maland
Age Range
Although the book is aimed at an age range of about 6 years old, it can be used for just about any age group, including adults (that was more to make myself feel better!). The younger the child, the less they will understand the meanings behind the book and the more they will believe that the dragons are real (I'll come to that in a bit), but that doesn't mean that they won't enjoy it as a book of fantasy. The older the child (or adult) the more they will understand the meanings behind the dragons, which means that it could also be used as an educational resource to discuss issues that children might have.
Text
The text itself is fairly simple and I think that this is what makes the book so endearing. It starts with, 'Dragons come when you least expect them. You turn around...and they're THERE.' The book goes on to describe the butterflies in your stomach, the fact that you don't deserve to have dragons, how you can pretend that they don't really exist, how everybody (even adults) have dragons, how you can't seem to get away from them, how you make silly mistakes because of them, how you try to deal with them...all of this in simple, childlike language: 'When you've got dragons, you need lots of hugs.' It's a text which children can easily understand and get to grips with, without being overly patronising. The book isn't very long, and all of the text is in large letters, so it won't take too long for you to read and yet the language and text size is so that a slightly older child could read it with you.
Meanings
I think most people will by now have twigged that the book is about fear rather than about real life dragons, however much a young child may think so. It's about the fact that all of us do have a dragon that worries us and keeps us up at night. The actual reason that I'd bought it is because my younger foster brother is a...difficult child. He's been through far more in his short life that any child should have to and this makes him very difficult to deal with on a lot occasions. I had the bright idea that it might help our foster parents to get him to discuss things with them that worry him, and quite miraculously, it worked...this is very rare for any of my bright ideas, usually they are spectacular failures. Whenever he's worried or upset about something he can now talk more easily about it because he now has a name for it; 'Mummy, my dragons are back again'. The dragons can stand for any kind of fear whether it be big or small, and although it may seem like they will never go, they will eventually, as the book states, you will wake up and they are gone, it just takes time. My foster brother found it very reassuring to find out that adults also have dragons, and they have all been 'frightfully good'. This meant that it wasn't his fault and never had been, because if all these adults also had dragons then it was ok for him to have them.
Educational Resource
I'd mentioned before that I felt this book would be useful for education, and the reason that I believe this is because it is a brilliant starting point for children to be able to talk about their worries and fears. This would obviously works best with primary school students, in which you have 'circle time', and this idea of dragons could be used for any topic that you wished to discuss in class, from bullying to drugs to work issues. Having seen the effect that this simple book has had on my foster brothers ability to discuss his fears and issues, I believe that it could quite easily be used by teachers and parents for the definite benefit of any child. It's reassuring to children, allows them to speak without being fear of being laughed at, as well as giving some tips on how to deal with your own dragons.
Illustrations
These are very nicely done illustrations by Nick Maland, who has a knack for the brightly coloured illustrations that appeal to children, while keeping the eye for detail that will appeal to older children and adults. He has also put the illustrations in different sizes, so some take the whole page while others only illustrate a single sentence, which means there are three of them per page. He also fits humour into the illustrations as well - for instance there is one picture which shows a dragon eating a boy's maths tutor, that made my foster brother giggle and ask about his own teacher! The illustrations perfectly, some of them are quite scary (my foster brother covered his eyes at some points), others are sweet or funny.
Problem Page
As far as the humour in the book goes, the problem page nearing the end of the book is one of the best parts. This is a very light hearted page in which you get 3 problems about dragons which are written into Ben and he then answers them, my favourite by far is from Dad:
'Dear Ben,
I have been trying to hide from my dragons for 53 years, 8 months and 4 days. Can you recommend a foolproof hiding place?'
Yours hopefully,
Dad.'
'Dear Dad,
Try under the stairs. It's more comfy than under the bed. (I always wondered what you were doing there.)
Your loving son,
Ben.
P.S Say 'Hi' to your dragons when they find you. They will.'
Personally, I felt that this was absolutely brilliant!
Conclusion
My views on this must be clear from the review that I've given; this is an amazing book for adults and children alike which can aid discussion about fear and worries, as well as being reassuring and allowing children to realise that grown ups get scared and worried too. Grown ups have dragons, just like children. No matter how old or young, children and adults alike, this is a book that is a must have for every person's bookshelf.
Summary: Dragons are a part of everyday life
crowyhead's review against another edition
4.0
This ended up being a bit advanced for my preschooler (she picked it out because she likes dragons), but it is a very charming way of addressing anxiety and worries in youngsters.
Notes on representation: the characters are predominantly white.
Notes on representation: the characters are predominantly white.
mssprinklecakes's review against another edition
5.0
I was reading this book to consider for a storytime with a Kindergarten class. I loved this book so much. At first it seems like a light-hearted funny book about a kid who ends up with dragons but you quickly realize (as an adult) that the dragons stand for something else. While I read it I thought about the dragons might represent things such as: depression, anxiety, and (on an easier level) just problems. The children may understand that the dragons stand for the feels they get when they're anxious or have a big problem they try to ignore but can't or they may not and they may just enjoy the book. Either way, it is a fun, age-appropriate story on dealing with anxiety.
librarianryan's review
slow-paced
2.0
This book was too long and very boring. It showed it age, just not in illustration, and library wear, but in style of storytelling. I think this would have been better as a spoken story rather than a written one.
crownjules's review
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
vendittis's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book for helping children understand why they must talk about their trauma.
stefhyena's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very interesting book. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for children (except maybe older ones, or ones who are unusually articulate about their anxieties). It's a picture book, but one that could be useful for adults because it talks about mental illness (anxiety) in a very simple and dignified way and gives good advice about dealing with it.
I will consider whether in fact some children would like it but at the moment I am leaning toward sharing it with adult friends. Dragons in the book are fears and anxieties and the book reassures us that it is not unusual to have dragons and gives some pretty practical and realistic tips for living and dealing with dragons. There is hope in it too. It is so short and simple and yet one of the best "how to" mental health books I have read.
I will consider whether in fact some children would like it but at the moment I am leaning toward sharing it with adult friends. Dragons in the book are fears and anxieties and the book reassures us that it is not unusual to have dragons and gives some pretty practical and realistic tips for living and dealing with dragons. There is hope in it too. It is so short and simple and yet one of the best "how to" mental health books I have read.
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