 and caregivers. My name is Kelly Cowling. I'm the executive director of Gray Havens Philosophy in Longmont, Colorado. Gray Havens Philosophy is a P4C nonprofit. P4C stands for philosophy for children and communities. That's right, we like to talk about some big ideas with little people. One of the ways we do that is called books and big ideas story times. We usually do these at libraries, museums, schools, daycare centers, but this happens to be a cold day in April and I'm staying home just like most of you are to help keep us all safe. So I'm inviting you to join with me in bookside and big ideas story times using one of my favorite books Dragon Love Tacos. At the end of this video, I'll let you know how to do more books and big ideas story times live online in April and May. Let's get started. This is one of my favorite books, like I said, it's called Dragon Love Tacos. The words were written by Adam Rubin and the pictures are by Daniel Stalmiere. Let's find the title page. Will. This is not the title page, but it sure has a lot of tacos. It kind of gives you an idea that there are going to be a lot of tacos in this book. Here's the title page. The title page is the page where we get to see the title again. Dragon Love Tacos. There's a dragon in this picture and a taco. Can you spot the dragon? This is the dedication page. When the person who writes the words and the person who creates the pictures really care a lot about their book, sometimes they want to dedicate it to people they care about. There's the dedication and here, my friends, is the taco cave. Let's get started. The kid. Did you know that dragons love tacos? They love beef tacos and chicken tacos. They love really big gigantic tacos and tiny little baby tacos as well. There's the kid. There's the kid's dog and there are lots of dragons in this picture. Are those real dragons in the picture? What does that mean for something to be real? If it's a real toy dragon, is that the same as it being a real dragon? If this kid is a real character in the book, is that the same as being a real person? Let's continue. Why do dragons love tacos? Maybe it's the smell from the sizzling pan. Maybe it's the crunch of the crispy tortillas. Maybe it's a secret. Who's making those tacos? Either way, if you want to make friends with dragons, tacos are key. Hey dragon, why do you guys love tacos so much? This dragon is getting takeout tacos. Where are they coming from? But wait, as much as dragons love tacos, they hate spicy salsa even more. They hate spicy green salsa and spicy red salsa. They hate spicy chunky salsa and spicy smooth salsa. If the salsa is spicy at all, dragons can't stand it. This kid is reading a book called No Spicy Salsa, a guide to dragon cuisine by Alan Puff. And here some hot salsa and here is some way too hot salsa. If salsa is hot and it burns your tongue, why do you think people like it? But one thing we know is dragons don't. Why do dragons hate spicy salsa? Well, just one drop of hot sauce makes a dragon's ears smoke. Just one speck of hot pepper makes a dragon snort sparks. Spicy salsa gives dragons the tummy trouble. And when dragons get the tummy troubles, oh boy. If you want to make tacos for dragons, keep the toppings mild. Tomatoes, check. Lettuce, check. Cheese, check. These are all good toppings for dragon. Dragon, how do you feel about spicy taco toppings? How do you think that dragon is feeling? Oh, look at his face. How do you think he's feeling? Parties. They love costume parties and pool parties. They like big gigantic parties with accordions and tiny little parties with charades. Why do dragons love parties? Maybe it's the conversation. Maybe it's the dancing. Maybe it's the comforting sound of a good friend's laughter. The costume party and the pool party. What other kind of parties do you see? Think a friend's laughter is something that we like to hear. The only thing dragons love more than parties or tacos is taco parties. Taco parties are parties with lots of tacos. If you want to have some dragons over for a taco party, you'll need buckets of tacos. Pants loads of tacos. The best way to judge is to get a boat and fill the boat with tacos. That's about how many tacos dragons need for a taco party. After all, dragons love. Are you excited for the big taco party? What do you think? Do you think that dragon's excited? Just remember, dragons hate spicy salsa. Before you host your taco party with dragons, get rid of all the spicy salsa. In fact, bury the spicy salsa in the backyard so the dragons can't find it. What is the kid doing? That kid is being a good friend to the dragons by burying all the spicy salsa in the backyard. Why do you think it's so important to the kid to have a taco party for dragons? He sure is working hard. Well, these dragons love your taco party. They love the music. They love the decorations. They especially love. Congratulations. What is going on at this taco party? My favorite is the dragon with the shirt that says, I heart tacos. It's a good thing you got rid of all that spicy salsa. Wait a second. What are those little green things in the salsa? You didn't read the fine print. Oh no, this says totally mild salsa. Now with spicy jalapeno peppers. Why do you think somebody would make a jar of salsa and write on it on the label? Totally mild salsa. But in the little bitty fine print, right? Now with spicy jalapeno peppers. Dragons, listen to me. Do not eat those tacos. Those little green specks in the salsa. Those are jalapeno peppers. They are super spicy. I know you love tacos, dragons, but you are not going to love those tacos. Do not let those dragons eat those tacos. Crunch, crunch, crunch. To the kids how? When the dragons ate some spicy salsa, fire came out of their mouths and it looks like the kids house down. Whose fault do you think it is that the dragons burned the kids house down? Is it the kids fault? You didn't read the fine print. Is it the dragons fault? They ate the spicy salsa. You don't know if they knew it was spicy. Probably not. Was it the fault of the people who made that jar of spicy salsa and called it mild, but didn't say in big letters that it contained spicy jalapeno peppers? They only said it in little tiny letters? What do you think? Well, why would dragons help you rebuild your house? Maybe they're good Samaritans. Maybe they feel bad for wrecking it. Maybe they're just in it for the taco breaks. There's some dragons helping to rebuild the house. And there's some dragons having a taco break. After all, dragons love. At the end of the story, the most important question that I can ask you is what did that story make you think about? What questions do you have? What ideas did that story give you? I've been reading this story for a while now. I've read it to a lot of kids. And I have so many questions about this story. I'm wondering, remember how the kid had lots of toy dragons in his room and a poster of a dragon? I'm wondering if the kid really had a taco party for dragons, or if it was in his imagination. If something's in your imagination, does that mean it's not real? Could something be a real character in a book or a real imaginary friend? And if that's true, how is it different from the way that you are real? No, that you are real. I'm still wondering about questions of fairness and justice. Do you think that the dragons should have helped the kid rebuild the house? Do you think that they were responsible for making sure that the kid got to rebuild, got his house rebuilt after they burnt it down? Or do you think they were being kind and generous? Why do you think the kid wanted to throw the taco party in the first place? That question keeps coming up for me. Do you think the kid was being kind and generous? Or maybe the dragons are his neighbors. And he was being a good neighbor. What does it mean to be kind and generous? What ways are you kind and generous? Are there times when it's hard to be kind? Are there times when it's hard to be generous and share or give things to other people? What if the dragons are just in it for the taco break? What if you do something good, but you get something out of it like taco break? Is it better to do it just to be kind and not get anything out of it? Or is it okay to do something good even if you get a taco break? These are questions that you can think about long after you've read the book. And I hope you'll talk about these questions. I also hope that you will join me live online every Wednesday at 10 a.m. in April and May on Zoom for books and big ideas storytime. We're taking all possible precautions to keep everybody safe on Zoom. And one of those precautions is that you have to register, then we'll send you a link so that you know how to join us. You can register with the link in the description. If you're interested in more philosophy programs or you want to support our work, then you can visit gray havensgroup.org. That's G-R-E-Y havensgroup.org to find philosophy programs or little kids, bigger kids, teens, adults, and my favorite programs that bring the generations together. You can also sign up for our newsletter and support our work. I hope you'll also find us at on Facebook at gray havens philosophy. That's G-R-E-Y havens philosophy and on Twitter as at GH philosophy. Thank you so much for thinking and talking with me today and reading. That's important too. That's why my next video will be for parents and caregivers to help you choose thought provoking books for your children. And in that video, I'll tell you how to register for an online workshop about having meaningful conversation with your children and teens. And with the whole family, my dog is making noise over there. I'll teach you about having meaningful, deep conversation, even with kids as young as three. And you can sign up for that workshop. And I really hope that you join me and I hope to see you again online and in person. And thank you again for reading and thinking with me. I hope you get to go enjoy something that you love as much as dragons love. Hi, everybody.