Asia Citro’s Dragons and Marshmallows (Zoey and Sassafras #1)
Description
Zoey has to determine how to help a sick baby dragon – only five days after she first learned of the magical animals in the forest.
Zoey loves to discover the forest behind her house, and run science experiments with her Mom, but she doesn’t know that the forest is filed with magical animals. When Zoey and her Mom discover that Zoey can see the magical animals, her Mom explains how she has been caring for sick magical animals for years. But Zoey’s Mom has to go away for a week, and she’s trusting Zoey to care for them while she’s gone. Zoey is excited to meet these fascinating animals, but soon finds that it’s a lot of work to figure out how to care for them when they’re sick.
Disclosure
I borrowed this book for free from our library system, it was provided for my personal use. There was no agreement with the author, publisher, or any third party that I would publish a review. The following review is unsolicited, unbiased, and all opinions are my own.
Review – Spoiler Free
This was a fun read, and definitely easy for us to read in one sitting. It was easy to follow, and Zoey is a cool girl; I’d definitely be game to explore the forest with her and her scientist Mom. It’s a great book to read if you’re looking for something with strong female inter-personal relationships, and women working in science. There are a few terms in here that kids might not know (ex: hypothesis, warm-blooded, herbivore), but Citro does a good job of explaining them in the story without breaking the story’s flow, and also provides a short glossary at the end of the book. The story is told in first person from Zoey’s point of view, which is fun, though I’m not sure if she’s telling it as it’s happening, or is writing it after the fact in her science notebook (though this differentiation isn’t really important).
There are two aspects in here that I’m on the fence about. First, Zoey is kind of emotional, she gets really upset a few times when she’s caring for the baby dragon. It’s nothing crazy, or bad, and is perfectly logical in context, but in reading it, it felt like she swung pretty fast from her being OK to crying. The second, is that Zoey’s Dad isn’t involved much in Zoey’s work while her Mom is gone because of a technicality. It manifests in a way that Zoey seems to avoid talking with him about the struggles she has with caring for the magical animals. I get that she needs to be the one to find the solutions while caring for them, but why can’t she at least be honest and open with him? So, they’re not big problems, more like little nuisances for me as I read.
Overall, it was a good read, I don’t think I’ll be buying it, but we’ll definitely be checking out the rest of the series.
Quote
Mom squeezed me in a big hug. “Zoey, I’m so proud. You kept trying even when things got hard.”
-Zoey’s Mom (Dragons and Marshmallows, Asia Citro)
Ratings
- Quality of Writing – 3
- Plot – 4
- World Building – 3
- Characters – 3
- Ease of Reading – 4
- Pictures/ Illustrations – 4
- Appropriate for Intended Age (Chapter Books and Middle Grade, Ages 6-12; could be read to Kindergarten age) – 4
- Overall Enjoyment – 3
- Final Rating – 3.5 (Actual: 3.5) – Liked It/Really Liked It
Want to learn more about the numbers I use for rating, and the qualities I’m thinking about when writing a book review? Check out my post How I Rate and Review.