Trafalgar True

Serendipity

by Stephen Cosgrove, Robin James (Illustrator)

Trafalgar, a beautiful blue dragon, tries to end the arguments between the Kith and the Kin--two species of very similar-looking animals--over a piece of sunstone that has fallen from the sky.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Dragons, Fantasy, Kids, Young Adult

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Cori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book with an excellent moral and beautiful artwork.

I'd rate this book a G.

[Josiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trafalgar True may be the best of the Serendipity books I've read. The full potential for writing depth that Stephen Cosgrove displays so prominently in all his literature is at work in force here, demonstrating him as a force to be reckoned with in the world of books for young readers.

Stephen Cosgrove is unafraid to delve into topics such as loss, not fitting in well, and the love of one too shy to fully show it. Trafalgar True is an excellent vehicle for all three of these topics, and I found myself easily identifying with Trafalgar's feelings, through the good and bad times.

I highly recommend this book; young readers will love Trafalgar not just as a character but as a friend. For empathetic and receptive older readers, this tale is an antitoxin against the dark side of our world.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful story that is also gorgeous illustrated to the details. And it is truly a great book to have.

Within this book the main character is actually shown in a secondary light when compared to the Kith and Kin who also live in the island. But although he is secondary-like it is the dragon who keeps an eye and is willing to sacrifice himself in the attempt to bring peace back to his home. This is definitely one of the top dragons of Cosgrove!

[Arwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Serendipity books not only have good lessons they are beautiful too. In this tale of Kith and Kin and their argument over a sunstone, Traflagar decides the only way to resolve the arguments is to fly the stone back to the sun. The Kith and Kin realize that Traflagar would have to sacrifice himself to do this, and they make peace in order to save their friend. It's a good story, and as always the illustrations by Robin James are wonderful.

[Ikayuro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so happy I managed to track down another one of the Serendipity books! I didn't originally plan to try to read as many as possible, but they're just too fun not to!

This is definitely one of my favourites, as I LOVE the story and 'lesson learned' that this particular tale offers. On top of that and the gorgeous artwork, I love the cheeky word play and puns with the Kith and Kin!

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a quick read, but for AR, it is rated as a 4.7. My daughter reads between 4th and 6th grade levels. Anyways, she read it and loved it. She said I needed to read it and read it I did. It was a really cure book with a great meaning behind it. I would definitely recommend it to kids that read in that level.

[Aiden]

Well, I didn't get to finish it because my niece, who is almost 3 and who made me lie down and read because I was "sick", said the book is too long so I couldn't read it hahaha. I told her I wanted to finish, and she said no, it's too long, then flipped through every page making up a story to show me how it was too long. I love that kid!

[melydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trafalgar True is a dragon with big sad eyes who teaches little bunny/skunk/fox-like things with big sad eyes about sharing. As with all these books, the art is absolutely gorgeous and the story is sweet and simple.

[Chey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always been in love with Cosgrove’s artwork. It’s absolutely stunning with a cute story to go with it.

[Amy Gentry]

This book traumatized me as a child by being too beautiful. It should be illegal for a dragon to have eyes that sad.

[Greta Uhde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story. Very colorful characters. Very creatively written.

[Robert Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet story. The story teaches a good lesson. The pictures are adorable.

[Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a very long time ago, and it was one memorable book. Today my daughter brought it home, and I nearly cried. For many reasons.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this one! Beautiful art, wonderful characters, and an ending that genuinely makes me tear up. When Serendipity books are at their best, they're truly great.

The main story here is about greed and how it can turn people (or, in this case, small fluffy creatures with only minor physical differences between them) against each other. If only there were kind-hearted dragons in the world to save us from our pointless fighting over golden bits of sunstone.

[Kelly Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story from Cosgrove.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out my blog, Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing for my thoughts and memories of the Serendipity series!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this one!

[Moira · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book as a kid!:)

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

the kids really enjoy me reading this to them

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book about sharing and generosity.

[Ida Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must say this book was short and for little kids but it was on point for me today.

Friendship was is more important than material things. Or being right.

[V H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute book about learning to share

[Bear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite adorable, I must say. The illustrations of the Kith and Kin are just so...fuzzy.