We got hit by the cold and flu bugs flying around this year, like a lot of families out there. As my toddler sneezed and coughed and inevitably passed it on to me, I was constantly reminding her to cover her mouth. Then we met Enzo the dragon. This children’s book about dragons is not only a lot of fun, but shares a rhyming reminder to keep your germs to yourself, which my daughter now happily repeats!

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Be a Good Dragon was written and illustrated by Kurt Cyrus. When Enzo the dragon catches a cold, his sneezing and sniffling unleashes havoc over the village below his home. As he causes fires and destruction with his drama, the royal magician rushes out to help. He gives Enzo the perfect solution to his troubles and helps him to feel better. The peppy rhyming and lively illustrations draw the reader in and make it a fun book to read aloud. The author even writes Enzo’s dialogue so you sound sick when you read it out loud (“I’b sick! I’b sick!”).  My daughter requests it over and over again!

Sick Days – My favorite part of this book is the final lines, which give kids a rhyming reminder to cover their sneezes so they don’t get others sick. Now whenever we cough or sneeze, we repeat the line from the book, reminding us to cover up. Instead of constantly nagging her to cover her sneezes, this book gave us a fun way to remember! This story also reviews the best way to care for someone who is sick. Talk to your kids about the magician’s recommendations to the dragon and follow them when someone in your house is sick. Make your own soup together and create a comfy spot for them to get some rest.

Dragon Breath Tubes – We decided to make these fun dragon tubes to bring Enzo to life! I set up this craft by cutting a paper towel roll in half, and cutting 1 inch thick strips of red, yellow and orange tissue paper. We painted the outsides of the tubes with green paint and set them up to dry.

After they dried, we squeezed a line of glue around the inside edge of one end and laid one end of the tissue paper strips in the glue. Once they dried, we were able to blow through them and make the tissue paper “flames” fly around. She has had so much fun running around the house sneezing and roaring just like Enzo!

Popping Popcorn – When Enzo soars over the corn fields, his fiery breath makes the corn pop! Bring this part of the story to life by popping popcorn on the stove top together. Have kids help you measure out the popcorn kernels, oil and salt for your snack. Talk to them about how the heat makes the kernels pop, and watch them start to pop in your pot.

Sleeping Dragon Tag – Get kids moving with this fun game! Assign one person to be the sleeping dragon and have them curl up in the middle of a big room or yard. Surround the dragon with small balls (tennis balls, baseballs, etc). The other players have to sneak forward and try to take a ball without waking up the dragon. The dragon can choose whenever he or she wants to “wake up” and chase after the other players. Whoever he or she tags is the next dragon.

Dragon Words – This book is full of great vocabulary words that flow perfectly in the rhyming text and also offer an opportunity to grow your child’s vocabulary. My daughter loves using big words and often asks me for definitions of words that she doesn’t know. To inspire kids to use better vocabulary words, introduce them to the concept of “Dragon Words”. Why use simple “Mouse Words” when you can use big and powerful “Dragon words”?

While reading this book with your kids, stop and talk about some of the bigger words in the text that they may not understand. Tell them what the word means and talk about some of the “Mouse Words” that the author replaced. Use this free printable to write out the Mouse words and Dragon words that you find in the book, and inspire your kids to use more Dragon words in their daily lives.

This book is a fun way to teach kids about covering their mouths and noses when they are sick, while also being lots of fun for dragon fans!

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