Rosie and Rasmus

PreS-Gr 2-Rosie, a young girl, and Rasmus, a young dragon, are lonely until they meet and become friends. Although they don't notice her, Rosie stands alone watching the other children play. Rasmus, who lives atop a tree, longs to fly like the birds. When Rosie, dejected and alone, sits beneath Rasmus's tree, he surprises her with the gif of a flower. As the two become friends, Rosie shows Rasmus how to drink tea from a fancy cup, do pirouettes and jump rope. The dragon shows Rosie his kite, balloons, and favorite book about a flying dragon. Together they try to help Rasmus fly. Neither the birds nor the balloons can carry him aloft. And Rasmus is reluctant to leap off a cliff until Rosie's gift of goggles and scarf, but most likely his newly sprouted wings, finally enable him to fly. Rosie, alone once again, has learned about making friends, though, and her offer of a flower to another little girl sprouts a new friendship. The watercolor cartoon illustrations offer a variety of views, from double and single-page spreads to vignettes. Rosie initially appears alone against a wall, pigeon-toed, hands behind her back. Later, head bent, she is a solitary speck on a double spread as she walks to Rasmus's tree. The dragon has a winning lamb-like face filled with expression from sadness to utter delight. Dragon and girl bid farewell in a touching embrace, the sadness relieved a few pages later with Rosie's jaunty walk with her new friend.