Dear Komodo Dragon

Lots of children have pen pals but one little girl has a real-life dragon—a Komodo dragon—for a pen pal! Leslie plans to be a dragon hunter when she grows up. When she and Komodo become pen pals, the wise-cracking dragon adds a generous helping of humor to letters that are chock full of accurate, interesting facts. Leslie learns not only about the world’s largest lizard, but also about the dangers they face. As their friendship builds, will Leslie change the way she thinks about dragons?

This fictional story includes a 4-page For Creative Minds section in the back of the book and a 30-page cross-curricular Teaching Activity Guide online. Dear Komodo Dragon is vetted by experts and designed to encourage parental engagement. Its extensive back matter helps teachers with time-saving lesson ideas, provides extensions for science, math, and social studies units, and uses inquiry-based learning to help build critical thinking skills in young readers. The Spanish translation supports ELL and dual-language programs. The interactive ebook reads aloud in both English and Spanish with word highlighting and audio speed control to promote oral language skills, fluency, pronunciation, text engagement, and reading comprehension.

Written by Nancy Kelly Allen, Illustrated by Laurie Allen Klein
32 pg, 8.5 X 10, Ages 4-9, Grades K-3, Lexile: 630, F&P: M

Reviews:

Peppered with childlike humor and told from a kid’s perspective, this book is both enjoyable and informative for budding wildlife conservationists.
- Kirkus Reviews

A very special, unique, educational and entertaining picture book for children ages 5 to 8, "Dear Komodo Dragon" is unreservedly recommended for family, elementary school, and community library collections.
- Midwest Book Review

This is a picture book. I like the pictures. They are my favorite part. I didn’t know Komodo dragons had a third eye to sense when light changes. I can’t see where it is. Another cool fact is they spit poison. I liked learning facts through the letters.
- Reviewed by Nishaant - Age 9 for Kids Book Buzz

Author/Illustrator Info:

Award-winning illustrator Laure Allen Klein’s Dolphins: Learned Behaviors is the first book she has both written and illustrated. Laurie has been a freelance artist for over 30 years, working with a variety of education teams at zoos, marine parks and aquariums creating life-size animal murals, animal ID art, camp field guides, activity books, and posters. Laurie has illustrated The Pangolin Revelation, The Long and Short Tail of Colo and Ruff, Dear Komodo Dragon, Saving Kate's Flowers, Balloon Trees, Fur and Feathers, The Ghost of Donley Farm, If a Dolphin Were a Fish, Little Skink's Tail, Meet the Planets, Solar System Forecast, They Just Know, and Where Should Turtle Be? for Arbordale. Laurie lives in Florida. See more of her artwork at www.lauriekleinarts.com.

Award-winning author Nancy Kelly Allen is a retired school librarian who spent her days reading to children and her nights writing for them. Eventually, writing led her down the trail to publication. She has written over forty children's books, including The First Fire: A Cherokee Folktale for Arbordale. Nancy has a master's degree in Education from Morehead State University and a master's in Library and Information Science from the University of Kentucky. Nancy lives with her husband and two dogs in a log cabin in Kentucky. Visit her website at www.nancykellyallen.com.