Thank you Penguin Publishing & Ariel for sharing the Advanced Review Copy with Storymamas! All opinions are our own.
Warren & Dragon -100 Friends will be released on Tuesday, but we’ve already had the pleasure of meeting these fun characters! Ariel Bernstein, author of I Have A Balloon has teamed up with Mike Malbrough to create this wonderful and engaging early chapter book series!
Warren and his twin sister, Ellie are about to move to a new house. Ellie challenges Warren to make 100 new friends. Warren, isn’t sure he wants the challenge, since he has one friend, Dragon. Dragon has been Warren’s friend through thick and thin, although to others he is only a stuffed dragon. So Warren works hard at his new school to make new friends, and finds out it is not as easy as it sounds, and that having one friend is sometimes easier (even if he does eat marshmallows a lot!)
What I loved about the book is the characters! I just found Warren to be such an authentic character. His actions and thoughts made me laugh and I often pictured many students I’ve taught who share his same character traits: easily distracted, quirky, a bit clueless and kind! His twin sister is more of a type A personality. I felt the contrast between them really resonated with me as I read the story. The plot is also light hearted but has some real truths, that making friends isn’t easy. I think this would make for a great addition to any classroom, home, or library, especially at the beginning of a new school year! Pre-Order now or head to your local bookstore on Tuesday!
Ariel was kind enough to answer three questions about the series and three questions about herself.
3 Questions about Warren & Dragon
What three words would you use to describe the Warren & Dragon series?
Giggle-inducing (is that technically 2 words? I’ll think of two more just in case), marshmallow-licious (I’m pretty sure I made that one up), and adorable (I am biased after all).
How did the idea for this series begin to take shape?
I was thinking about a picture book manuscript I’d written called NOTHING’S SCARIER THAN KINDERGARTEN. The story wasn’t really working but I liked the concept – a boy is afraid to start kindergarten. His three talking figurines – a pirate, a witch, and a dragon – tell him they’re way scarier than kindergarten so he has nothing to be afraid of. Turns out, the three figurines are terrified once they get to the school while the boy realizes it’s a fun place to be. I decided to take the boy and pirate character and make it into a chapter book. I quickly tired of writing the pirate’s dialogue, and started over with a dragon. It took off from there!
We love the personalities you gave Warren, his sister & dragon. Are they modeled after people in your life?
Thank you! Ellie is based somewhat on my older and wonderful sister, Debi. Like Ellie, Debi always was very sociable and had an easy time making friends. I guess Warren is a bit like me as a kid, as I day dreamed a lot. Although I never had a talking dragon to hang out with.
3 Questions about You
If you weren’t a writer, what would you want to be and why?
As a kid I always wanted to be a judge. I was the youngest in my family, and I liked the idea of deciding things. Now that I’m older, I kind of get to be a judge as a mom. Although my verdicts aren’t always adhered to!
What is one book that has stuck with you since you’ve read it?
There are a lot of books that could answer this! I love John Connolly’s THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS. He creates a story that references many fairy tales in a really unique and original way. Plus it’s just a bit creepy which I always appreciate.
What is one item in your refrigerator that tells us about you?
Cucumbers. They tell you that I’ve finally grown up enough to make myself eat healthily, at least once a day. The cucumbers also do a good job of hiding any sweets for when I don’t eat healthily, which is also at least once a day.
To learn more about Ariel Bernstein, visit her website or follow her on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.