Misbehaving! Dragon Was Terrible by Kelly Dipucchio

NATURALLY, DRAGONS HAVE A BIT OF TERRIBLE IN THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE DRAGONS.

BUT THIS DRAGON HERE? TERRIBLE!

Dragons are supposed to keep their smoky mischief beyond the pale, properly out in countryside caves, curating their hoards and blasting knights on chargers seeking adventure and fame.

But this one? He's just a home-town jerk!

HE SCRIBBLED IN BOOKS.

HE TOOK CANDY FROM BABY UNICORNS.

HE SPIT ON CUPCAKES!

(WHO DOES THAT?)

The king advertises for brave knights to rid the walled city of this threat to civil deportment, but the run-of-the-mill heroes all fail. Dragon continues in his deplorable behavior.

HE BURPED IN CHURCH.

But a brave young lad in a feathered cap steps up to the challenge. He sets up an easel and sketches out the beginnings of a story. He lays a trail of marshmallows to lead Dragon to a shady tree where the lad settles himself, reading a storybook aloud. Dragon feigns disinterest, but circles around and stealthily climbs the tree to listen. Just as the story gets really interesting....

SNAP! CRASH! DRAGON LANDED WITH A THUD ON THE GROUND.

"WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR HOW THE STORY ENDS?" THE BOY ASKED.

DRAGON SMILED.

It seems even impudent dragons delight in a good story, especially one with a hero dragon, in Kelly DiPucchio's latest, Dragon Was Terrible (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016),  With the help of noted artist Greg Pizzoli's comic cartoon characters, kids will laugh at this rude dragon, a perfectly awful spoiled preschooler type, who nevertheless falls for a good storyline, turning the page on beastly behavior for his inner dragon. "This is one terribly good dragon tale that will leave readers laughing," says Kirkus in their starred review.