When Mrs Singer lived at Dragon Hall it was filled with fun and laughter. ‘Mrs Singer painted colourful pictures and Mr Singer baked delicious cakes’. They were a very loving and helpful couple to their neighbours and ‘they loved dragons’. But Mrs Singer had gone, and Mr Singer no longer smiled, he was grumpy and no longer looked after Dragon Hall or himself. The neighbours tried to help but Mr Singer’s door stayed shut and his world turned grey.
Evan had always loved playing at Dragon Hall and folding paper dragons with Mr Singer and was sad it no longer happened. One day he knocks on Mr Singer’s door and asks him to help him fold a paper dragon – ‘like we used to’. Mr Singer refuses so Evan tries but constantly fails. Mr Singer notices the discarded attempts which rouses him to help. With the older man’s guidance, they begin to fold dragons together. This small act of a young boy becomes the spark to help Mr Singer out of his greyness and begin to return and enjoy life. Slowly the dragons and the magic return to Dragon Hall.
Lucia Masciullo’s artwork bring this simple yet powerful tale to life. The integration of the grey images of Mr Singer and his sadness are blended skilfully with the colour depictions of the neighbourhood. The inside of Mr Singer’s home is messy and filled with reminders of life with Mrs Singer and the images of Mr Singer show a man trapped in grief, sadness and depression. The depiction of origami folds on the endpapers are a gentle reminder of the power of sharing and teaching a craft between generations can be.
A simple tale showing the importance of caring for others in your community and how the power of small gestures of love and friendship matter.
Picture Books for Older Readers
