Dragons Drumming by Sandra Bennett

Title: Dragons Drumming

Author: Sandra Bennett

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Rosella Ridge Books

Published: 1^st February 2024

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Price: $26.99

Synopsis: When you feel fear, how do you react? Do you run and hide, or face fear head on?

In Dragons Drumming a little boy and his faithful companion begin by deciding to hide, before they rise to the occasion and confront their fears.

Pittering, pattering, plink, plonk, plop.

Dribbling, drizzling, drip, drap drop.

Rattling, roaring, thrash and thrumming.

Can you hear the dragons drumming?

Dragons Drumming is a beautifully illustrated picture book perfect for toddlers, pre-schoolers and early school years that will help alleviate the fear of thunderstorms.

Join our reluctant hero and his best friend, Smudge, as they discover through lots of wonderful wordplay how to overcome their fear. Let a child’s wonderful imagination lead your child to a place of delight and discovery as one by one a family of noisy dragons are introduced to produce claps of thunder and flashes of light.

THEMES

• Weather
• Thunderstorms
• Feelings/Emotions
• Dragons
• Percussion

PERFECT FOR

• 3-6 years
• Pre-school
• Kindergarten – Year 2

~*~

What does a thunderstorm sound like to you? A tumbling sea? Or like dragons beating their drums? In Dragons Drumming, a young boy and his dog, Smudge, are sleeping when the dragons start beating their drums amidst a storm that terrifies the hero of the story and his dog. At first, they hide from the loud noises, unsure of what to do, and how to get past their fear. But, our hero and Smudge will use their imaginations to see the beauty in the thunderstorm, and see the magical creatures drumming their drums as the storm passes over.

Sandra Bennett’s new book is a bit different from what she usually writes. Not only is it a picture book aimed at children from pre-school age to year two, but it is a magical story using alliteration and onomatopoeia to evoke the sensations of the thunderstorm, reflecting what it is whilst also reassuring children that their fears are valid, and that the storm cannot hurt them – it’s just dragons drumming their drums. Colours pop from the pages as each dragon embraces the storm and shows the hero what they can do.

It is a reassuring book that allows children to experience the thunderstorm in a safe way, and can help them learn about weather, emotions, fear, thunderstorm and dragons as well as percussion – where these combine to evoke a story that will speak to readers on different levels and interests, where they can focus on what stands out for them. It is also a book that will allow children to run away with their imaginations to play drums with dragons, have fun with the weather and get a taste of the world of music – and hopefully, doing so will help any children scared of thunder forget their fears. This is a great book to read at any time, and reading it during a thunderstorm means you can point out the dragons drumming on the drums to your child, and give them names – who are your drumming dragons?

Sandra has self-published Dragons Drumming, and it is available from her website, as are all of her other books. I loved reading this book because I think dragons are really cool and seeing how you can turn something that is scary or makes you feel anxious into something fun and fantastical where you can use your imagination. I liked that it encouraged children to see the magic in the world around them, however they respond to it. Sandra’s books are wonderful, and each one has something different for readers – so whichever one you check out, there will be something to enjoy. Dragons Drumming is one that I love.