There’s No Such Thing As Dragons
Lucy Rowland and Katy Halford
Scholastic

Prompted by the titular remark of his grandfather during a story-sharing session, a young child embarks on a mission: to find out whether or not dragons exist. Before leaving he packs the items he needs in his backpack and asks the readers to assist in the search. 

Then having checked his own abode the lad heads off up the hills, climbs a mountain, 

and then enters a forest, takes flight in a hot air balloon, tries the museum and several other places but with no success. He does find the occasional knight in the castle though, before heading to the final location on his list of possibilities: the rocky seashore below the castle.

As he sits checking his dragon book beside the entrance to a cave who should appear but his grandpa who has been searching for him all the time. Reluctantly the boy concedes “There’s no such thing as dragons” 

as the two watch the shadows dancing in the moonlight. Suddenly as they are about to depart, they hear a sound and there’s a distinct rise in the temperature … Then comes a surprise revelation: what could it be?

Lucy’s spirited rhyming text scans well, so it’s a good one to read aloud to a class or group; and individuals will enjoy scanning Katy Halford’s illustrations that underscore the whimsical humour of the story as they too search for the dragon hiding in plain sight.