Blurb
Ted the dragon lives all alone in a big house, deep in the woods. He LOVES making things, spending his days baking cakes, painting pictures and creating costumes. There’s just one problem: he doesn’t have anyone to share his amazing creations with.
Ted tries so hard to make friends with the other animals, but there’s something about his fiery breath and fearsome-looking claws that keeps putting them off.
One day Ted notices a sign for a summer picnic party in the forest. The only trouble is that it’s for BEARS ONLY. Perhaps if he dresses up as a bear for the day they’ll let him in and he’ll make lots of new friends. What could possibly go wrong?
Just Being Ted is a sweet, heart-warming story about the importance of being yourself and being accepted for who you are.
Review
Just Being Ted is a heartwarming tale of a dragon who is feared and lonely making friends and being accepted.
This book has a lovely message of inclusivity, being yourself, and not having to be like everyone else. It teaches children not to judge others on looks, it is the person inside that counts (quite literally when Ted dresses up as a bear).
My 3-year-old loved the story and learnt from it, at the start he said ‘Oh, scary dragon’ but soon said ‘poor dragon’ and by the end realised that Ted isn’t all that scary and found him funny and friendly. He loved the unicorn costume at the end!
I enjoyed that this is a proper story, as it has a beginning, middle, and end. Lots of books for young children can be quite lighthearted and sing-songy (not that it is a bad thing), but I do like a real story with a message and something to take away from reading with my children.
The illustrations are beautiful, I like the fact that every bear is unique, showing that whilst they are all have something in common (that they are bears) they too are all individual and have differences to each other. This is a lovely visual addition to the message in the story.
Thank you to LoveBooksTours for the copy to review and for inviting me to take part in the tour.
