Dragons love tacos — but hold the hot sauce

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

The East Bonner County Library Sandpoint Branch will go all out on Saturday, Nov. 18 to celebrate Family Reading Week with a party inspired by the childrens’ book Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin — and one of the dragons will even make an appearance. 

The taco-loving serpent, played by teen Zella Lopez, will ride in with the Fire Department to meet the kids and give them the opportunity to tour one of Sandpoint’s fire trucks.

“We’re taking over the entire library,” said Youth Services Librarian Suzanne Davis, who organized the event. “Idaho Family Reading Week is a statewide celebration to encourage families to read together and, for those with young children, to encourage them to engage in the five early literacy practices — reading, writing, singing, playing and talking.”

Though there won’t be any singing, the library’s party will help kids in preschool through second grade develop the other four literacy practices through a series of activities: a scavenger hunt, maze, storywalk, writing challenge, building project, beanbag toss and a game of pin the taco on the dragon. There will also be dragon-themed crafts and a photo station with wings for the kids to pose in.

Children will pick up a “passport” at the start of the party and receive a stamp for every activity in which they participate. Seven stamps earn them a free book as part of the My First Book Program, which brings librarians to local preschools, Head Start and Kids Castle, every month with a new book.

“[The] books are ones I’ve gotten from the Idaho Commission for Libraries. We have 70 copies of The Dot by Peter Reynolds, as well as a large number of donated books. We also have giveaway notebooks and bookmarks,” said Davis. 

With so many dragon-themed stories and activities, organizers hope to show kids the magic of reading and inspire the next generation of book-lovers.

The Dragons Love Tacos Party is FREE from 2-3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18 at the EBCL Sandpoint Library, 1407 Cedar St., 208-263-6930. For more information, visit ebonnerlibrary.org.