Zog
Madam Dragon's curriculum moves through flying, roaring, fire-breathing and princess capture, with Zog's accidents and the girl's first aid recurring between tests. The final encounter changes the assignment: the princess wants to be a doctor, and Zog becomes transport for a flying medical team.
Zog by Julia Donaldson is estimated to take about 9.5 minutes to read aloud (812 words, 3 sentences a spread). Best for ages 3-6.
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- Estimated read-aloud time
- about 9.5 minutesEstimated read-aloud time
- Words
- 812Word count
- Sentences per spread
- 3Text density
- Re-read tolerance
- 4/5repeat friendly
- Vocabulary level
- 3/5a few new words
- Best for
- Ages 3-6Age range
Our review
The school years are organized by a dragon skill—flying, roaring, breathing fire and capturing a princess—and Zog's repeated injuries bring the same helpful girl back between lessons. The final test exposes the premise's reversal: Pearl does not want the assigned princess role, and the knight becomes a patient rather than a rescuer.
Rocking in My School Shoes is the closer option for naming ordinary places in a single school day. Zog instead offers a multi-year curriculum and a career-choice ending inside a fantasy plot. Edition searching also needs care: US listings use A Gold Star for Zog, while UK listings commonly use Zog.
Before you buy it
The US edition is titled A Gold Star for Zog, while UK listings use Zog. Compared with Rocking in My School Shoes, this is a multi-year fantasy curriculum and career reversal rather than a tour of one ordinary school day.
Themes
- dragons
- school
- medicine
- rhyme
Books like Zog
More books with similar themes, formats, lengths and ways to join in.
Room on the Broomabout 10 minutes estimated · book review
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School's First Day of Schoolabout 9.5 minutes estimated · book review
The Little Engine That Couldabout 13 minutes estimated · book review
Doctor De Sotoabout 12 minutes estimated · book review
Lists Zog is on
20 booksBooks for 4 Year OldsThis shelf focuses on stories where the interesting work is noticing a reversal, following another viewpoint or connecting a picture with something the words leave unstated.
20 booksBooks for 5 Year OldsKeep two choices separate: what a child wants to hear and what they can read for themselves.
19 booksBooks for 6 Year OldsChoose the next book by the reading task: practicing newly learned patterns, reading a short episode with less help, or listening to a longer story.- 8 booksBooks Like The GruffaloThe Gruffalo combines rhyme, repeated encounters, threats and a trickster’s reversal.