If I Had a Dragon; Si Yo Tuviera un Dragón

I just finished the children's book "If I Had a Dragon (Si Yo Tuviera un Dragón) written and illustrated by Tom and Amanda Ellery.

My son and I read it together. And while it's too easy for him (well the English part is) at this point, it is a very cute story about a boy who doesn't want to play with his baby brother because the baby brother is too small. So he wishes his brother was something more fun like a kite, or a bulldozer, or a dragon. Then he comes to find that a dragon might not be as fun as he imagined. The illustrations are well done in that they really convey that frustration that a young child--slightly older than toddler--has with having to play with a smaller (around 1 year old) sibling. I think the book does a good job of addressing an issue that's all too common with children that age.

What we love about this book is that it's written in English with the Spanish right underneath it on the same page. So, first we read the whole thing through in English, then went back and covered the English to read it in Spanish. My son is learning Spanish (on his own) because, at 7, he has shown an interest to do so. And I found this a refreshing way to brush up on mine, which is admittedly a bit rusty. I had a grand time reading the Spanish parts aloud to him.