Zog
Part of the collectionJulia Donaldson→Best for 3–6s, Donaldson/Scheffler doing what they do, with a sweeter, more domestic register than the Gruffalo.
- Books2 / 2
- Arcs1
- Span2016–2017
- StatusComplete
The series
At a glance.
Two picture books about Zog, a kindly but accident-prone young dragon, also illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Zog (2010) covers Zog's first year of dragon school; Zog and the Flying Doctors (2016) follows up with Princess Pearl and a small flying medical team. Tightly rhymed and structured around small repeating refrains; pitched at the same 3–6 audience as the Gruffalo books.
Best for 3–6s, Donaldson/Scheffler doing what they do, with a sweeter, more domestic register than the Gruffalo.
Read in order; Zog first.
One arc
The shape of the series.
- INarrative arcLow sensitivity
Zog's two books
Zog at dragon school; Zog and Princess Pearl as flying doctors.
Two-book arc: the first establishes Zog's character and his year at dragon school; the second follows Princess Pearl into medicine. The two books reward back-to-back reading.
Fit check
Right for your reader?
Where the series lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- 15
- 17
- 19
- Best fit · 3–6
- Read aloud · 2–6
- Independent · 5–7
Reluctant-reader friendliness
Very high
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
Adult crossover
High
Grows with the reader
Designed to
Sensitivity envelope
Low overall, and consistent.
In the same universe
Sister series.
A small newer strand of Donaldson picture books illustrated by Catherine Rayner, The Go-Away Bird (2019), The Bowerbird (2023) and The Magic Feather (2026). The…
Open series →SeriesDonaldson & SchefflerThe thirty-year body of picture-book collaborations between Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler (excluding the Gruffalo and Zog books, which sit in t…
Open series →SeriesThe GruffaloTwo picture books, The Gruffalo (1999) and The Gruffalo's Child (2004), illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The first is one of the most-sold picture books of the la…
Open series →About the author