Sasha and the Dragon

Ok, actually just one of each of those.I got this as a namesday present for my son. I think it's supposed to be for school-age children, but my son is 3 y.o. and he loves it. Every time I read it to him, he wants to read it at least twice.It's a wonderful story about a little boy who finds comfort and protection from St. Michael, who I'm presuming is his family's saint. (I'm Serbian. Maybe Russians don't have that tradition.) In the climactic scene of the book, St. Michael actually comes out of the icon and slays a dragon.I love this book, because it teaches an aspect our faith in a very kid-friendly and engaging sort of way. My son loves it, because an angel kills a dragon with a sword. What more could a dude want?If you're an Orthodox parent, you need this in your life. Even if you don't have kids, buy it for your kumovi or kids in your parish. It could maybe work as a baby shower gift, but for those people usually give a board book like "I Pray Today" or "What Do You See at Liturgy?"If you're Catholic, you might like it too. I'm assuming there's message equivalency there, but I don't really know. I wouldn't recommend it for Protestants, since the sign of the cross, icon, and praying to the saint would be antithetical to them.The only thing I could potentially see as a negative is that a sensitive kid might find the dragon scary. You know your kid.Also, it would be a long book for really littles. My toddler likes long books, but some do not sit through them. If yours is still in that phase of flipping the page every five seconds, this isn't the book for you (yet). Or you could always make up suitable (shortened) phrases to match the pictures. They would still get the essence of the story. I do that all the time with long books.

I've read this book half a dozen times now with my girls, and every time I get goosebumps. This book EMPOWERS our children to face their fears. It is beautifully written, and captures the heart of something we all face as we grow up. At first I thought the dragon in the book might be scary to my girls, but the story had the opposite effect. They were captivated, and I could see the smiles break out when Warrior of Light comes and destroys the dragon. They absolutely LOVED it! I think they could definitely relate to the young boy in the story, and seeing his victory over his fear made their own fears shatter right along with that dragon. This book will be on my very short list of go to children's books for gifts...HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!We never want our children to feel afraid, to experience the bad things we have been through; we want to protect them from all the evil in this world. But the truth is that we can't. BUT we CAN teach them that Good will always conquer Evil. Don't get me wrong, this Mama Bear is fierce when it comes to her cubs. The lesson in this book is one of the most important lessons we need to learn.

I didn't exactly expect it to be so very dark and scary, but it didn't seem to bother my son. I wish more of the book focused on Archangel Michael, but it was mostly about this boy having a difficult time. Archangel Michael visits without a word and vanquishes a dragon and then things are all better. I wish there was an explanation for what happened or that Archangel Michael said something inspirational/kind/anything, but it was simply him jumping out of an icon into a cool fight scene and that was that. There are no other Orthodox books like it, but I was a little disappointed. The artwork was absolutely beautiful and I will buy as gifts, but it slightly missed the mark here.

Being a kid can be both scary and lonely at times. What makes those feelings even worse is when you are the new kid in town. That is exactly how Sasha felt in the latest children's book from Ancient Faith Publishing entitled Sasha and the Dragon. The book is written by Laura E. Wolfe and illustrated by Nicholas Malara.On the outside, you would think that Sasha is a boy like any other. In reality, he is a Russian born immigrant in a strange, new country called America. The children in his neighborhood laugh at him and his accent; his grandmother, whom he loves, is dying, and there is a dragon under his bed. Yes you read that right...a DRAGON under his bed. Being an intelligent boy, he deduces that there are dragons in America, because this was a young country that didn't have a rich history of saints, signs, and prayers. One night laying in bed, the dragon appears, and Sasha (rightfully so) is afraid. He has a choice to make. Does he hide under the covers for another night, or muster up what little courage he has and face the dragon? Sasha chooses the latter, but knows he can't face the dragon alone. He implores the aid of St. Michael and the icon in his room comes to life! St. Michael slayed the dragon, and the next morning Sasha discovered a golden angel feather on his floor. The events and this feather gave the boy courage and hope to face this new land. He reached out to the neighborhood children to try and befriend them and also tried to be closer with his grandmother to provide her comfort and companionship as well.Sasha and the Dragon is more than just a story of overcoming your fears. It is a lesson in faith in God, the power of prayer, and saintly intercession. Overall, I found the story to be very well-written with the only neutral point being that the resolution felt a little rushed. I felt it could have used one more page/night of turmoil before he got up his nerve to face the dragon. The illustration style was very vivid and popped off the page. I remember children's books from when I was a kid, and these illustrations were nothing like the books I read. I would call it high definition pictures as opposed to the old analog books I read when I was younger. The light and dark were captured wonderfully and complemented the story without overpowering it. Highly recommend this book for your young children.This book was provided to me for free by Ancient Faith Publishing in exchange for an honest review.