I debated between giving this book 3 or 4 stars out of 5. The story itself is okay, but there are better examples out there, primarily INTERRUPTING CHICKEN.
Our main character is a young dragon named Cedric who brings his favorite book to mom to read to him before bed. His book is the story of an angry dragon who is angry because he never goes to bed. (Foreshadowing?) Little dragon wants mom to read the story again, and again, and again, until she finally falls asleep herself. (Be strong, Mama Dragon, and put that kid to bed, was pretty much what I was thinking the whole time!) This story line has been done before.
But, that brings me to the part of the book that is incredibly creative and made the book really likable -- the use of the illustrations to not only show the action in the story, but to tell more of the story and make it a much better book. The awesomeness starts with the outside cover. If you take off the book jacket, or peek underneath if it is a library book, you will notice that you are holding the same book that is Cedric's favorite! You'll also notice a charred hole in the back cover, that is part of the action near the end of the book. As a reader, you're drawn in and part of the story!
The story actually begins on the inside cover where we see Cedric doing various activities leading up to title page (why is he winking?), and then page one where he asks Mama to read to him. As the story progresses, little Cedric and book Cedric start merging and then trading places, which is shown in the gradual changing of each dragon's color. And that all leads to the fiery ending, which ends up blowing a hole in the back of the book. Oh, and Cedric is absolutely adorable, even at his worst!
In the end I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars, because I believe that a picture book should be judged as the entire package -- story and illustrations.