One Drowsy Dragon

by Ethan Long

One drowsy dragon is trying to get some sleep, but his ten little dragons want to have fun instead. Five are playing with their toys, six are making milk shakes, and seven are watching scary shows on TV. Find out what a drowsy has to do to catch some ZZZZZZs in this rolicking counting book.

Genres: Picture Books, Dragons, Counting, Storytime, Childrens, Number, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Ethan Long is a popular, award-winning and internationally recognized children's book author and illustrator with over 70 children's books, a Theodor Seuss Geisel Award and an Emmy-nominated television series to his credit. Just about all of his awake time is spent writing stories, drawing pictures and spending time with his family. Since graduating from Ringling College of Art and Design in 1991, Ethan has never stopped evolving, challenging his creative approach with each new project while constantly honing his instantly identifiable style. Born and raised in Central Pennsylvania, his childhood memories serve as inspiration for many of his drawings and stories. He currently lives with his wife and three children in beautiful Orlando, Florida, USA and flip flops seamlessly between being a world famous children's book author and a stay-at-home dad.

Reviews

[Hyacinth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to chuckle as I read this book. I feel like dragon when my grandson wants to play and I want to sleep. This cute, easy to read interactive book is great for kids. I love reading in animated voices to children so that increases the fun. The book teaches counting from one to ten and introduces rhyming as well as it being funny and fun. The colors of the illustrations are vibrant and makes the book appealing visually. I won't spoil it by telling the punchline. Grab this book and read it with your children and grandchildren, you won't be disappointed. This has become one of my grandson's favorite books, now I'll have to buy it for him.

[Thimbleberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a favorite in our house since the earliest days, and is still loved at 4 1/2 yrs old. A book you don't mind reading over and over is always a good find! Good pictures, rhythm, counting, and bed time.

[Danielle Quintero · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is super cute book about a dragon that is trying to sleep, but things are getting noisy around him. It is great when introducing 5 senses or even counting to ten! He is just so sleepy, but all his dragon friends won't keep it down! Great read for circle time with Preschool!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic illustrations accompany fun rhyming text in this silly counting story about a drowsy dragon who just wants to sleep when all his dragon roommates are making a ton of noise. Kids will laugh and enjoy the pictures. A great group read aloud.

[Connie T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

One drowsy dragon wants nothing more than to go to sleep. But first one, then two, (and so on up to 10) dragons create noise that keeps him from falling asleep. Eventually, the noisy dragons have worn themselves out and go to bed but now they can't sleep because of the drowsy dragon's snoring.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun bedtime book with counting.

[Sparrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute counting story with fun rhyme and a humorous ending.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great counting book for preschoolers. Perfect as a felt board story for Story Time.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dragon works very hard to try and get to sleep but all the other dragons are keeping him awake. The dragon antics count up from 1 to 10. toddler and up

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever counting book about a dragon who needs to sleep but his little dragons are very much awake.

[Our Weekend Is Booked · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very tired dragon wants to go to sleep, but is kept up by the other dragons who are causing all sorts of havoc. My son liked the colorful pictures and counting the dragons.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this was a cute book. A good book for younger readers. I enjoyed reading this book. I would recommend this book to others.

[Katie Merkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a funny counting story about a dragon who just wants to go to bed. The way the rhyme and images work together and the fact that the story comes full circle makes this a satisfying read.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Q

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

One dragon is trying to sleep while the others are having fun. A counting book with a nice twist.

[Owen and Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute 1-10 counting book with a couple new vocabulary words like, drowsy, rambunctious, weary.

[Suzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute children’s book illustrations. Prose was just ok.

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

One drowsy dragon wants to sleep but keeps getting interrupted. Hmmm this sounds familiar 😂

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of a mystical creature library evening story time.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This entertaining counting book takes the reader through the daddy dragon's exasperation as his ten little dragons keep him awake. Funny ending; bright, fun illustrations.

[Ali Dutil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about a little dragon who just wants to go to sleep. However, all of the other dragons are making way too much noise. The book is made to help children learn how to count from 1 to 10. The numbers are related to the number of dragons doing each activity that is keeping the drowsy dragon awake. The little dragon tries to tell each group that he is trying to rest, but it seems like they don't really care. In the end, the 10 dragons wear out and are ready for bed too. But, something happens at the end that makes it hard for all of them to go to bed.

This book is intended for early childhood classrooms that range from 18 months to probably preschool.

This book is a good fit for these ages because it appeals to key concepts that children need to learn and begin practicing at these ages. Counting is a fundamental concept that instructors and providers begin teaching as soon as possible. This book does a great job at children learning their numbers and associating it with how many. The characters used and illustrations also do a good job with entertaining children.

I would use this in my early childhood classroom to work on counting and getting the children to associate that numbers are a given amount of something. This book will do a good job in keeping children interested with the attractive pictures and inventive characters. However, the main concept is easy to grasp due to the easy and fun rhyming language.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

One sleepy dragon wants to get some sleep, but his little dragons are making too much noise. In this rhyming counting book, readers will find one dragon after another making all sorts of noises. There is marching, dancing, screaming, jamming in a band, and much more. Throughout, the adult dragon becomes more and more frazzled and exhausted until the end of the book when the ten little dragons are tired too and ready for bed. But then the adult dragon is making so much noise snoring that they can’t get to sleep!

Filled with great sounds to make when reading aloud, this book is ideal for a pajama party. It has a jaunty rhyme with plenty of shouting from the frustrated dragon adding to the frenzy. The illustrations add even more appeal to the book with their bright colors and humor. Just the look on the adult dragon’s face will having readers giggling as well as how oblivious the young dragons are to the situation.

Bright and funny, this is a great counting book combined with dragon appeal. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

[Tiffany Beedle]

The story is about a dragon who is very tired. The problem with the sleepy dragon is that he is not able to get any sleep because the other ten dragons keep making noise and playing, which is making the tired dragon angry. In the end, the ten dragons decide that the tired dragon needs his sleep, so they all quiet and let the tired dragon sleep.

The audience for this book is a preschool or kindergarten classroom. The students who would enjoy this book are more likely boys because of the dragons.

I would use this book to teach counting one through ten as well as being polite and respectful to others. As each dragon joins the fun, the noise gets louder, and the tired dragon gets more upset. This is a great topic to bring up being respectful to others, while still reviewing counting.

The appeal of this book is the light heartedness of the dragon's actions and the rhyming of the words. Also, many kids enjoy dragons so that is a good part that makes this book more appealing.

Long, Ethan. One drowsy dragon. New York: Orchard Books, 2010. Print.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grades PS - 1

Busy dragons abound in this counting book that features a grumpy older dragon who is trying his best to sleep. Try as he might, he is interrupted... by one dragon clanging on a cup, then by two dragons engaging in space-ray battle, then by three dragons practicing their tap dancing, and so on. The illustrations are bright and engaging, adding to the silliness. Children will enjoy the rhyming text and various sound effects throughout. The older dragon gets the last laught when the smaller ones come in to sleep and he-- finally able to close his eyes-- keeps them awake with his snoring.

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poor dragon! He’s so very tired. He just wants to take a nice nap but everyone around him is making noise and keeping him awake. “One marching dragon clanging on a cup.” Two noisy dragons battle…” right up to “Nine rockin’ dragons in a loud band”.

I feel for that dragon. Oh, wouldn’t it be great to have a little rest? Sometimes, my house is noisy, noisy, noisy, especially when reading the pages of One Drowsy Dragon- we had to animate and pretend a bit.

[Ginny Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

After we checked this book out from the library, my daughter, Emmy, has asked for me to read this book every night!

One very tired dragon, (which reminds this mama of herself), can't go to sleep because all the other dragons are making too much noise! This adorable counting book is a wonderful bedtime book.

[Sammie Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good for counting, as the dragon tries over and over again to go to sleep. He is not succesful because all of the other dragons are keeping him awake. At the end the other dragons want to sleep, so it turns out ironic in the end, good for kindergarten and first grade. Very cartoon like illustrations.

[Alexandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as kids go, this book was pretty amusing. One poor little dragon just wants to sleep. All day long he begs others to take their noise elsewhere, to no avail. Finally he gets to sleep and... well, you have to read the book.

Both simple and fun, this is a great book for kids to learn compassion for others and awareness of their surroundings.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a wonderful number of vocabulary words. It focuses on a grumpy dragon who objects to all of the noise his friends are making. This book includes counting 1 through 10. It has many fun pictures. This is a definite choice for the PreK and Kindergarten students. Use it to help children both develop vocabulary and learn to count.

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an amusing variant of the classic counting book. One dragon is trying to sleep, but the other dragons keep him awake with a series of noisy activities. The ending is cute and the book will introduce young readers to synonyms for sleepy and noisy.