Zog

Reviewed by Anonymous

Julia Donaldson’s rhyming picture book follows a young dragon’s efforts to learn and persevere, balancing comic mishaps with themes of practice, encouragement, friendship, and using one’s abilities to help others. Its buoyant verse and Axel Scheffler’s expressive illustrations make it excellent for preschool read-alouds and early independent readers. The story also gently questions narrow expectations about what success should look like. A mild limitation is that the brisk rhyme and busy action may make some emotional transitions feel quick, so a slower reread can help children notice the character development.