The Sour and the Sweet by Sandra Horn
First the sour, then the sweet. You know that thing, particularly prevalent in children’s picture books, when you have a great idea and write it and then find that someone else has already published something very similar? Well here it is: about ten years ago I wrote a story about a misfit dragon child. I called it Bubble-blowing Brian: - Deep inside the volcano, dragon eggs were hatching, One, Two, Three. One and Two snuggled down in the red-hot rocks. Three flapped his wings to make a breeze. 'Phew!’ he said, ‘it’s hot in here!’ Every day, One and Two practised breathing fire and roaring. Three fanned his wings in a quiet corner by himself. On Midsummer Eve, the little dragons chose their special names. The Dragon King came to hear them. ‘Fearsome Firesnake!’ Shouted One. He blew a plume of scarlet flames. All the dragons clapped. ‘Ferocious Flamebreath!’ roared Two. He snorted green fire. The dragons cheered. Three said, ‘Hello, ...