''Zog'' is a 2010 children's picture

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

Julia Donaldson Julia Catherine Donaldson (; born 16 September 1948) is an English writer and playwright, and the 2011–2013 Children's Laureate. She is best known for her popular rhyming stories for children, especially those illustrated by Axel Scheffler, ...

and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, about a young accident-prone

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

, named Zog, who wants to be the best student in dragon school.

Reception

Booktrust reviewing ''Zog'', wrote "The illustrations are as vivid, imaginative and amusing as you would expect from the illustrator of The Gruffalo, with subtle details that children and adults will love. The perfectly crafted rhyming text is ideal for reading aloud. And the ambitious princess is a great touch." ''Zog'' has also been reviewed by ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

'', and the ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

.'' In 2010, the story book won the Galaxy National Book Award. An interactive Zog-themed woodland nature trail for children was installed at Grizedale in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

in 2019.

Publication history

*''Zog'' (2010), Alison Green *''A Gold Star for Zog'' (2012), Arthur A. Levine Books

Television adaptation

Magic Light Pictures Magic Light Pictures Limited is a British 2003 independent film and television production company based in London, England. The company was founded in 2003 by producers Martin Pope (film producer), Martin Pope and Michael Rose (film producer), ...

produced a half-hour television adaptation, also known as ''Zog''. Directed by

Max Lang Max Lang (born 1982) is a German-American film director and illustrator. He has been twice nominated Academy Awards in the category of Best Short Animated Film, for ''The Gruffalo'' in 2011, and for '' Room on the Broom'' in 2014. He is also the ...

, it was broadcast on Christmas Day 2018 at 4:50 PM on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

. Magic Light previously adapted five other Donaldson/Scheffler books for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, including ''

The Gruffalo ''The Gruffalo'' is a children's picture book by the English author Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It tells the story of a mouse strolling in a wood and encountering a series of predators culminating in the fictional 'Gruffal ...

'', ''

The Gruffalo's Child ''The Gruffalo's Child'' is a British children's picture book by writer and playwright Julia Donaldson, and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It is the bestselling sequel to ''The Gruffalo'' and won the 2005 National Book Awards Children's Book of ...

'', '' Room on the Broom'', ''

Stick Man ''Stick Man'', written by former Children's Laureate Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, is a children's story about an anthropomorphic wooden stick who becomes separated from his family home and his ''Odyssey''-like adventure ...

'' and ''The Highway Rat''. It won the 2018 International Emmy for Kids Animation.

Home media

''Zog'' was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on 11 February 2019 in the United Kingdom.

Voice cast

* Sir

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British Jamaicans, British-Jamaican comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ' ...

as the

Narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

. *

Hugh Skinner Hugh William Skinner (born 6 January 1985) is an English actor. He is best known for starring in sitcoms '' W1A'' (2014–2017) and ''The Windsors'' (2016–present), and his appearances in musical films ''Les Misérables'' (2012) and ''Mamma M ...

as Zog, the orange accident-prone dragon who tries his best every day to win a golden star. ** Rocco Wright as Young Zog. *

Kit Harington Christopher Catesby Harington (born 26 December 1986), known professionally as Kit Harington, is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Jon Snow (character), Jon Snow in the HBO fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011� ...

as Sir Gadabout the Great, the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the story who, at one point, joins Zog for a

fight Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

. *

Patsy Ferran Patricia Ferran (born 25 November 1989) is a Spanish-British actress. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before becoming known for her roles on stage and screen. She has received a number of accolades including a Laurence Olivier A ...

as Princess Pearl, the princess who lives in a castle with her uncle and dreams of being a

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

. *

Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman; 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, singer, dancer, screenwriter, producer, and director. Despite being frequently referred to as a comedian, Ullman considers herself a character actress. Critics h ...

as Madame Dragon, the green dragon and teacher at Dragon School who teaches the dragons throughout the school days/ Pearl's governess. *

Rob Brydon Robert Brydon Jones (; born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He gained prominence for his roles in film, television and radio. He was appointed Order of the British Empire, Member of the Order ...

as the

Horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

/ Castle Guards.

''Zog and the Flying Doctors''

The sequel, titled ''Zog and the Flying Doctors'' was published by Alison Green Books on 7 September 2016. On 12 November 2019, it was announced that

and

would team up once again on

and Axel Scheffler's ''Zog And The Flying Doctors'' for

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

2020 at 2:35pm, with

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

by French

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

Rene Aubry. ''Zog and the Flying Doctors'' was released on

on 22 March 2021 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Voice cast

* Sir

as the

. *

as Zog the

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

. *

as Princess Pearl. ** Rosabel Lawson as Young Princess Pearl. *

Daniel Ings Daniel Ings (born 30 November 1985) is a British actor. He starred as Luke Curran in the Channel 4/Netflix comedy series '' Lovesick'' (2014–2018). Other credits include '' Psychoville'' (2011), '' The Café'' (2011), ''The Crown'' (2016–201 ...

as Sir Gadabout the

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. *

Alexandra Roach Alexandra Elizabeth Roach (born 20 August 1987) is a Welsh actress best known for her roles as Becky in ''Utopia'' and DS Joy Freers in '' No Offence''. She has also made appearances in series including '' Being Human'', ''Inside No. 9'', '' Bl ...

as the

Sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin tha ...

Mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

. *

Mark Bonnar Richard Mark Bonnar (born 19 November 1968) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Max in ''Guilt (British TV series), Guilt'', Duncan Hunter in ''Shetland (TV series), Shetland'', Bruno Jenkins in ''Casualty (TV series), Casualty'', ...

as the Distressed

Unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...

. *

Lucian Msamati Lucian Gabriel Wiina Msamati (born 5 March 1976) is an English Tanzanian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in theatre, film, television and radio. His notable screen roles include Salladhor Saan in the HBO series '' Game ...

as the Sneezy

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

. *

as the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

(Princess Pearl's Uncle).

Upcoming TV series

On 10 February 2025, it was announced a ''Zog'' television series is currently in production.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zog 2010 children's books Children's books about dragons British children's books British picture books Donaldson and Scheffler Children's books set in schools