No Dragons for Tea - Picture Book Recommendation

It's been a while since I found a picture book to recommend, but this is one I think would be a perfect addition to any young child's personal library.

No Dragons for Tea is a cute story about a little girl who meets a dragon in the park.  She and her mother invite the dragon over for tea.  While having tea...the dragon sets the house on fire.  The little girl and her mom remain calm, but the dragon panics and does all the things you worry your kids might do if your house really was on fire.   Because it is a dragon making the mistakes, the tone of the book is not scary.  It is funny, but sensible.  The book ends with a rhyming poem about fire safety and a discussion page to share with your child.

I was very surprised to discover that even our big kids had a strong desire to "save" their favorite toys if the house was on fire.  As we discussed what we would do in that event, they both made clauses to the rules in their imaginary fires that allowed time to grab Softy the dog or a train set.  And although they knew "stop, drop, and roll", they didn't realize that smoke was dangerous.  They also terrified me with an escape plan that involved a 2nd floor window and the baby.

Never a dull moment around here...