In the heart of the city, among the taxis and towers, a small boy travels uptown and down, searching for his friend. Readers will certainly spot the glorious beast, plus an array of big-city icons they can count. Is the dragon taking the crosstown bus, or breathing his fiery breath below a busy street? Maybe he took a taxi to the zoo or is playing with the dogs in the park. Steve Light’s masterful pen-and-ink illustrations, decorated with meticulous splashes of color, elevate this counting book (numbers 1–20) to new heights. Maybe the dragon is up there, too! Enter a fascinating, ornately drawn cityscape and help a boy find his dragon while counting objects from hot dogs to traffic lights.
"A riot of miniscule details, numbers, colors, familiar city elements, and a magnificent, fantastic creature always hidden in plain sight, Light gives us a city dragon worth remembering long after the pages are turned."
— School Library Journal
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"Expressive line drawings fill the pages of this counting book, a love letter to the streets and sights of Manhattan...Light’s creation will appeal to Manhattanites and those outside the borough alike. Details missed the first time through the book will bring readers back for more."
This whimsical book will provide plenty of material for repeated readings—or, I should say, viewings, since the main appeal of this book is the illustration. The boy's dragon is cleverly concealed in each scene, out of the protagonist's line of vision, and young readers will enjoy finding where the dragon is hiding from his friend. Although the pictures are mostly black-and-white line drawings, spots of color in each page identify the items to be counted, and children who enjoy counting can practice their numbers from one through twenty. The busy detail of the street scenes also provides plenty of humor and imaginative observation.