When You Meet a Dragon

The opening spread of When You Meet a Dragon is phenomenal. A tiny child of indeterminate gender, dwarfed by the surroundings, looks way, way up. Only the dragon's shadow is visible, one so large that its shape covers the road. I particularly like a humorous page two spreads later. It shows the people who hesitate about helping. One carries a sign that reads, “Dragons Don't Exist”. One covers her eyes, another laughs, and a third chews his fingers in fear. A toddler demands to be picked up by a man holding a sign prohibiting fire-breathing dragons.

Despite people's hesitation, the main character gets some helpers and assigns jobs: a bucket brigade and a group operating a fire hose. Only then do we see the dragon, and, at first, a small section of it is shown from above. One girl climbs up to whisper in its ear—but the dragon doesn't listen. Instead, it breathes fire. The startled girl tumbles to the ground as do the water buckets and carriers.

Rather than give up, the crowd encourages each other and cleans up the mess. The main character jumps onto a garbage can from where they lecture the dragon. Helpers continue to spray it with buckets, a hose, a sprayer, and a watering can. They work together, even when things seem dark. One beautiful scene shows a crowd of people and animals cowering in the dark behind an overturned car and in front of a bakery with broken windows as the dragon leers down at them. Then reinforcements—people and a dog—come from nearby towns. Everyone advances toward the dragon who furls its wings and takes flight. Everyone cheers and dances in the street.

But wait. What if the dragon comes back?

The second to last visual shows the fighters rejoicing in their victory: dancing, cheering, standing on their hands. They know how to work together now and won't have to face a future dragon alone.

I particularly like how the final spread accentuates the town as a community. The main character is asleep in bed. The girl who talked to the dragon stands at her open window, looking over the street. A raccoon from several spreads hides beside a chimney. Someone repairs a roof. Another sweeps a balcony. A man in the street below pushes a wheelbarrow of cinders.

Like many outstanding picture books, this is more than a story about dragons. It is also about activism, the process of getting a community to work together. That element makes When You Meet a Dragon suitable for both younger and more mature audiences. With older listeners, adults might discuss what the dragon could symbolize in their lives and how working together would help them face that challenge. When You Meet a Dragon is most suitable for primary classrooms and elementary school libraries.