What's more perfect than a day on the sofa while the rain patters on the windows?

I'm just settling down with books, cocoa, and my long-haired dachshund, when the doorbell rings. It's Fred the dragon, hoping to use the bathroom. There's nowhere suitable for a fastidious dragon. After rejecting all the usual places, Fred sweeps us off through the storm to a magical world of floating pagoda bathrooms.

Every beguiling detail in these illustrations evokes the snuggle of a cozy, rainy day in a funny story that addresses the very necessary question of where dragons go when they need to go.

Prizes

New Zealand Listener's Top 50 Kids Books

"Beautifully illustrated in a way that doesn't just invoke dreary rainy afternoons, with water stains and colors that blend together at the edges but will also remind readers of a kind of comfortable lethargy that can cover a town or neighborhood on drizzly days."—Booklist

"A unique bedtime story—before the nightly bathroom visit."—Kirkus Reviews

Julie Völk is a celebrated illustrator from Vienna, Austria, who studied at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg and has illustrated many award-winning picture books. In 2018, she was named an IBBY Honored Illustrator. Julie Völk is a celebrated illustrator from Vienna, Austria, who studied at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg and has illustrated many award-winning picture books. In 2018, she was named an IBBY Honored Illustrator.