Kids! Come Meet Nickerbacher - The Funniest Dragon - Brought to you by Terry John Barto!

Nickerbacher
The funniest Dragon

I bet you've all heard about Puff the Magic Dragon, but I just met another really cool dragon called Nickerbacher...  Nickerbacher is a funny dragon... He does standup comedy! Cool, right?! Well, he didn't start out that way...


We meet Nickerbacher when he is a sad dragon...


First let me stop and tell you about the fantastic colorful dragons you'll be meeting illustrated by Kim Sponaugle. They are so unique and fun to look at!

Nickerbacher:

The Funniest Dragon

By Terry John Barto

Illustrated by Kim Sponaugle

Nickerbacher had an important job, of course--he was guarding the princess in the high tower in which she lived. He was happy to help keep her safe, but that wasn't what he wanted to do for the rest of his life... He wanted to make people laugh!

Fortunately, the princess had become a friend and so she would listen while he practiced his routine, and Princess Gwendolyn laughed so much that Nicherbacher would start to laugh as well!
Let's watch...

Now you'll quickly admit his jokes are funny, but, really, have you ever heard or seen a dragon laugh?! I imagined it would be so unique that he'd probably lose his ability to make fire, don't you think? At least for awhile...
When his father came to see how he was doing, well, personally I think he made a mistake, as he, trembling, tried out a joke on his father:

Nickerbacher stepped up on a tree stump. "What do you get when you cross a dragon with a snowman?"
Papa just stared.
"A puddle," Nickerbacher answered.

Papa breathed fire and asked him what he was talking about. He tried, really, to tell his Papa Dragon that he wanted to be a stand-up comedian. But Papa hollered that it was his duty...every dragon's duty...to guard princesses.

Nickerbacher tried to argue saying that he wanted to make people laugh while his father told him that he was supposed to scare them..." He thought he had no choice but to agree...

And then the Prince came...and Nickerbacher couldn't help it...Instead of using his real name, Prince Happenstance, he said "Prince Fancypants..."

Nickerbacher grinned; the Prince did not...

This book is an excellent way to subtly help children know that they need to consider what they want to be when they grow up...and then work hard to make it happen, even when parents might not understand right away... Such a beautiful way to help children understand that they will need to begin to make decisions for themselves...\

Highly recommended...


GABixlerReviews

Before writing children's books, Terry John Barto directed and choreographed more than 200 regional theater productions. In addition, he was the creative mind behind numerous television and cruise ship shows throughout the world. When Terry John Barto was employed as the creative director for Wings of Dreams Productions, he worked with many diverse ideas and turned them into screenplays for animated films. He also used his experience to help artists develop popular action figures and dolls for several large retailers.

Terry lives in Los Angeles, California and enjoys Pilates, Yoga, and hiking with his dachshunds, Hunter and Mazie.