The Tale of Custard the Dragon

Belinda's pet dragon, Custard, has fire-breathing skills galore but a coward's heart, until an irate pirate breaks into Belinda's house and Custard figures out a way to save Belinda and her pet cat.

The late Ogden Nash's (Custard and Company) wordplayful 1936 rhyme gets a fresh start with timeless illustrations by Munsinger (Ho for a Hat!; One Hungry Monster). Title character Custard, the "realio, trulio little pet dragon," lives with young Belinda, her dog Mustard, her cat Ink and her mouse Blink; while these housemates boast of their brave deeds, cowardly Custard cries for "a nice safe cage." Yet when a pirate invades their home, the smaller pets desert Belinda ("Ink trickled down to the bottom of the household,/ And little mouse Blink strategically mouseholed"), and Custard courageously saves the day. Munsinger's watercolor-and-ink cartoons have a classic quality: Ink the cat appears Victorian, and there's a trace of John Tenniel's designs in pug-nosed, striped-hose-wearing Belinda. Custard is a little more up to date?like a lime-green beanbag with slender purple wings?and his moment of bravery reminds "fearless" readers of the purpose of guardians in a sometimes scary world. Ages 4-8.
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Ages 4-8. Munsinger does an appealing job of catching the mix of wry humor and affection that has made Ogden's whimsical poem a favorite with audiences young and old for 60 years. "Belinda lived in a little white house, / With a little black kitten and a little gray mouse, / And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon, / And a realio, turlio little pet dragon." Called Custard because of his cowardice, the dragon is teased unmercifully by Belinda ("brave as a barrelful of bears") and her other supposedly courageous animal friends until a pirate frightens everybody but self-effacing Custard, "who gobbled him, every bit." At first, there seems to be nothing extraordinarily fresh about Munsinger's watercolor interpretation: Custard looks as dragons should (a little bit paunchy and a nice shade of green), as does the pirate, with his peg leg, tri-cornered hat, and red-and-white T-shirt. Yet the pictures are full of energy and expression, strong and lively enough not to be overwhelmed by the bouncy cadence of the verse. In fact, they have a genuine warmth and humor that will quickly make this version of Nash's poem a favorite. Stephanie Zvirin