Deb’s Dozen: The Dragon, Princess, and Prince: A Comedian, Runaway Bride, and Baseball Player?

Nickerbacher, the Funniest Dragon, had a huge problem. His father had assigned him to guard the princess. But Nickerbacher didn’t want to guard the princess—and the princess didn’t want guarding. Nickerbacher wanted to be a stand-up comedian—but who ever heard of a dragon who was a comedian? So Nickerbacher practices his jokes on the princess—“Why did I cross the road?” “Because I was a-draggin’.”

Princess Gwendolyn wanted to run away with Prince Happenstance (whom Nickerbacher promptly called Prince FancyPants). What should they do? What could they do? Did they have the courage to reach for their dreams? When the Prince comes to get the Princess, Nicherbacher tries out his jokes on him. The prince tells Nickerbacher he’s supposed to scare princes, not make them laugh.

Gwen convinces Nickerbacher to tell his father he wants to be a stand-up comedian—that didn’t go well! Nickerbacher finds out Prince Happenstance wants to be a baseball player, but he was born a Prince—that doesn’t go well either. What to do? Where to go? What about their obligations?

Terry John Barto has written a delightful children’s story about following your dreams—about daring to dream—about living your dreams and about having the courage to stand up to opposition. Children of all ages will appreciate this story about the dragon, the princess, and the prince. The illustrations by Kim Sponaugle greatly add to the enjoyment of the story. In addition to the book, Barto has an activity pack that complements the book available on his website, http://www.nickerbacher.com/activities/. You and your child will enjoy the antics of Nickerbacher, The Funniest Dragon.Four stars!

Terry John Barto is a director and choreographer of regional theater productions, television, industrials, and cruise ship shows. He’s honed many different ideas into great stories, has written screenplays for animation features, and has led a team of artists to develop dolls and action figures to go along with the stories.

Book Fun Magazine gave me a copy of Nickerbacher, the Funniest Dragon in exchange for my candid review.