Dragons Love Tacos

Photo credit Penguin Random House

Hey, Kid!

Did you know that dragons love tacos?

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin and illustrated by Daniel Salmieri will have you loving tacos as much as dragons do! This fun colorful picture book engages the readers from the first page, putting them right into the story with the main character! If you love dragons or tacos, then this is the book for you!

Adam Rubin does a great job of using music in his language. The things dragons love (tacos) or hate (spicy salsa) is told in a way that is repetitive and predictable making it a great read aloud choice or shared reading experience for young children to follow along with. The pattern goes from “dragons love tacos” to all the different kinds of tacos they like to asking, “why do dragons love tacos?” Maybe it’s for these reasons… but the dragons never tell us why they love tacos for sure. This pattern creates emphasis especially when the author switches to what dragons hate. The element of prediction and foreshadowing from this pattern make for a great class discussion with students. The humor in the narrator's precise language choice is also a big hit.

Daniel Salmieri enhances this story will his colorful illustrations that really add details to the story that are much better seen than heard! My favorite detail added within the illustrations has to be the dragon’s reaction when asked, “Hey dragon, how do you feel about spicy taco toppings?” We then see the dragon rolled over with his legs in the air like a dead bug, his eyes rolled to the top of his head and his tongue out! That’s a pretty strong reaction to spicy taco toppings, and while the author could have just written that dragons hate spicy taco toppings the humor and depth added by this illustration really make the story come to life. How relatable is that reaction to a food? How many times have we pretended to be dead when we felt strongly about something? This dragon is personified on the page and creates a unique element to the story without even having to say anything!

Within the detailed illustrations, Salmieri also extends the plot. When we reach the climax in the story, the words disappear and all we are left with are the pictures telling the story, and boy do they tell a story! We see bright, dramatic colors, detailed reactions of both the dragons and the young boy with his dog. We can tell what is happening just by looking at these detailed, exciting illustrations, that moves the story from climax to directly afterwards before picking up the story’s words again. It is as though there were words there all along, the story continues to move forward. The incorporation of the images to move the plot along is a nice touch that helps children visualize the story and understand that the pictures are just as important as the words when reading.

Just like the dragons, I too love a good taco party! This book was a fun, humorous, imaginative story but still hit me in the gut! The dragons were so sweet to help clean up after the taco party went awry, and the boy was so kind to try his best to make friends with the dragons by finding out what they liked and trying to throw them a party they could all enjoy! This book is not only about tacos, but also about friendship and helping one another. Even though we are all different, we can find out what others like and join in with them to connect with them and build friendships! I found this book wildly entertaining! The illustrations really drew me in and kept me captivated throughout the whole story!

I think children and adults of all ages can enjoy this book! Readers are engaged right from the get go with the hilarious title and the colorful cover illustrations. The silliness of the story is sure to bring a smile and a laugh throughout the story. Readers will find something new and unexpected on every page! If you love dragons, tacos or parties, I highly recommend this book! I give it two thumbs up and bucket load of tacos!

Rubin, A. (2012). Dragons Love Tacos. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers.