Good Dream Dragon

Unable to sleep, a child summons the help of the “Good Dream Dragon” in this fairy tale–like story of nighttime hijinks. When thoughts of cupcakes and counting sheep fail to result in shut-eye, the child—depicted with light brown skin and described using the pronouns they and them—calls for the dragon, which arrives with “majestic SHWISSHHHH and a fantastic SHWOOSHHHH” and promises to carry the child to sweet dreams. Dawson’s flat-styled digital illustrations show the pair journeying across starry skies and arriving at butterfly- and flower-filled Dreamland, where they sip from a giant teapot of ginger tea and skip cookies like stones. Surfing a lullaby “sound wave,” the protagonist arrives in a town made of books, reading until drowsiness signals that it’s time to return home so they—feeling newly courageous after the interstellar adventure—can “find their own good dreams.” With a final allusion to bravery, Davis lightly inserts emotion into what’s otherwise a pleasantly straightforward bedtime aid. Ages 3–7. [em](Oct.) [/em]