The Dragon at the Zoo  Melanie Koster  
Craig Phillips

 

The  Dragon at the Zoo   
Melanie Koster, ill. Craig Phillips
Scholastic (2026)
ISBN 978 1 77543 979 0 

 

 

I had the pleasure of reading Melanie Koster’s Elephant Park (2024) to a group of Christchurch pre-schoolers. They were remarkably receptive to it, not just because it is a good story but also because they had all played on the fibreglass elephant in the nearby park and saw it as their elephant. And, of course, their story.

  The same happy link seems bound to boost the deserved popularity of Melanie Koster’s latest picture book, The Dragon at the Zoo. It tells the story of Cedric, a zoo dragon that children love to play on. When some zoo animals cast doubts on whether Cedric is a real dragon, his feelings are hurt and he flies away. The children miss him. Can he be persuaded to return to the zoo?

 The bonus is that Auckland Zoo really does have a dragon. Made of concrete and chicken wire by Cedric Storey [note the name] in the 1950s, this fifteen-metre-long dragon has been played on by generations of children.

 In Melanie Koster’s charming story, a small girl named Tig is an admirer of Cedric. ‘You’re a spectacular dragon,’ Tig says while she is lolling on his huge tongue.  Cedric is happy to be living in the zoo and amusing the children.

  ‘I’ve lived in a meadow, a matchbox and under the bonnet of a librarian’s car but I think the zoo is the nicest home I’ve ever found,’ Cedric declares. [The reference is to Margaret Mahy’s The Lion in the Meadow]

 Unfortunately, several zoo creatures (including a lace monitor lizard and an eastern water dragon) declare Cedric to be a fake dragon.  ‘You’re just a pretend dragon.’ Only Tig defends him, so Cedric decides that it is time for him to fly somewhere else. With Tig on his back shouting, ‘Yahoo!’, Cedric flies over the landmarks of Auckland and the pair vanish into the emerald hills.

Craig Phillips has created colour illustrations which bring Cedric to magnificent life, complete with silver scales and flowing beard. The pictures are all richly-detailed with handsome animals, plants, birds and reptiles. A striking feature of the illustrations is that as soon as Cedric leaves, all the colours fade, making the world a drab place. This matches the gloomy mood of the people and creaures left behind. ‘The children were upset, the staff were worried that they might lose their jobs …’’

 Then the repentant dragonfly has a bright idea. She calls on all the birds to help. Craig Phillips has produced amazing scenes of a great gathering of birds, wheeling in the sky.

  Can they bring Cedric (and Tig) back?  Young readers will already know the answer to Melanie Koster’s question. It’s as certain as the large concrete dragon in Auckland Zoo’s playground.

 The design of this handsome book is by Vida Kelly.

 

Trevor Agnew 
10 Apr 2026 [Review 3831]

 

Grumble’s Bridge! Greg MacLeod

 

Grumble’s Bridge!
Greg MacLeod, ill. Herb  MacDonald

Scholastic (2026)
Picture book, 32 pages, paperback
ISBN 978 1 77543 974 5

 

‘Under an old stone bridge, nestled between wild tussock and mossy rocks, lived a troll named Grumble.’

Grumble the troll regards himself as a pleasant soul who just wants to sleep during the day. Unfortunately, Grumble’s ideal place for sleeping is underneath the stone bridge. After a pleasant meal (of salad eaten with chopsticks) Grumble is sound asleep when a ‘Trip-Trap’ sound disturbs him. True to tradition, it is a goat. The troll, who is gigantic stands in the middle of the bridge and bars the billy-goat’s progress.

 ‘Those are very clompy hooves you have,’ complains the troll, and bans the goat from using the bridge. He paints a crude sign, warning, ‘Bridge closed. Troll sleeping. Go away! No goats.’

No sooner is he dozing off than a duck arrives. (The duck is carrying a folder of papers to a meeting, so it can’t swim across the river.) After a brief and very droll argument, the troll adds ‘No Ducks’ to his sign.

A parade of creatures turn up in the pages which follow, so that Grumble soon lacks space for more names on his sign. This crisis is followed by a very funny exchange with a snail, accused of make a squelching noise. When Grumble tells the snail to go home, it just retreats into its shell.

Defeated, Grumble goes off to find a nice quiet, dark place to sleep. To his joy, he discovers a cave and is soon sound asleep. This might seem like a happy ending but Greg MacLeod has added an even funnier twist to his twisted version of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. ‘Who’s that snoring in my cave? Can’t you read?’ Grumble’s loud snores have woken a hibernating bear. Even worse, the bear has a sign, ‘CAVE CLOSED. BEAR HIBERNATING. GO AWAY.’ The angry bear adds ‘NO TROLLS’ to his sign and Grumble has to return to his home under the bridge.

The stage is set for a humorous conclusion, beautifully illustrated by Herb MacDonald

 Grumble’s Bridge! is a well-told story, with some very funny dialogue, which makes it a pleasure to read aloud. Herb MacDonald’s illustrations are a perfect complement, especially his troll, which has amazingly expressive teeth and eyebrows.

  The words which Grumble shouts are dramatically written in what can only be called troll-scrawl, which is also used for the noises which intrude on Grumble’s sleep. This is a bonus when the story is being read aloud.

 Trevor Agnew 

20 April  2026  [Review 3830]