The True Story of the Komodo Dragon

By Sébastien Bourbeau

The True Story of the Komodo Dragon is a work of fiction by the young author Sébastien Bourbeau, who sets out to teach important life lessons in an innovative experimental way. Squeak, the main character (the Komodo Dragon), will meet several players who will teach him how to survive in a predatory world. These characters will eventual

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sébastien Bourbeau
• Release date: Dec 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781777413309

Sébastien Bourbeau

Sébastien Bourbeau, a 17 year old author, has written a work of fiction for the English Language Art programs, grades 4 to 6. Sébastien is a young writer who created a mild version of what Experimental Fiction can be. He did it naturally and instinctively. He lives in the province of Alberta. He has two brothers and one sister, and is the uncle of three little boys. Sébastien is a kind and caring young teenager who discovered his writing talent by researching a wild animal on line: the Komodo Dragon. His readings inspired him. He did not know if he could accomplish what he had set out to do, but with dedication and perseverance, he succeeded. The young author's writing style, along with his subtle sense of humour, will keep the readers interest to the end. Sébastien Bourbeau will surely attract the attention of experts in the growing field of Experimental Fiction.

Book preview

FOREWORD FROM GRANDMA

to young readers

This book is unconventional; it is a hybrid between a novel and a textbook. The author has fallen under the spell of what is known as:

Experimental Fiction!

« notice the smiley face in blue, and the line in red »

If you Google the term Experimental Fiction,

you will find several ways in which authors express themselves. Some of these ‘ways’ are very challenging to read; some paragraphs are written backwards, while others are upside down. These authors break every rule, and to tell you the truth, it can be very difficult to read. In fact, some of them don’t even have a story to tell. Imagine writing a book without a story. How would that work for you? That’s not all; some authors can write a 300-page book with only one sentence, while others don’t write anything at all. Imagine going to a bookstore and buying a blank book with no words in it. Wouldn’t it be strange? In literature, there are traditions and conventions to follow, which you learn in school. For example, you always start a sentence with an upper-case letter, right? You also end a sentence with a period. In Experimental Literature, these two rules are often broken. Traditional authors observe the following guidelines:

How books should look like.

The way pages should be laid-out.

Stories should always make sense.

Writers should not make mistakes.

Authors should not invent bizarros(fake words).

but most of all . . .

— fonts should always be the same Size and StyLe —

Experimental Writers Break These Rules

Examine the lines above. The layout looks unusual, right? Imagine reading an entire book in which EVERY PAGE would look like that. You might get motion sickness, or as sailors say: sea sickness!  Don’t worry! Your author did not get too eccentric with his innovative approach. In fact, he created a mild version of what Experimental Fiction can be. He did it naturally, instinctively, elegantly, and with panache, without ever knowing that his writing style was falling under a labeled technique. It was me, his grandma, who found out about it long after his book was finished.

Experimental writing can be fun, funner if you don’t go crazy with it. When you have to do a book report or write a short story for school, ask your teacher if you can do it x-purr-ray-ment-lay.

See what I did there?

Have fun with it but don’t make it unreadable!

You don’t want your teacher to get seasick!

Enjoy your reading!

Granny Dani

. . .

However, I am only 18 years old, and you know what people say about being careful, right? (and when I say people, I really mean parents). I appreciate the advice, and for this reason, I will only use my baby pictures for now. However, I might change my mind later. It is my author’s prerogative to change my mind.

PREROGATIVE

It’s a big word, I know, but if I could say it when I was six months old, so can you. YES, I COULD SAY IT. Look at my picture; doesn’t it prove that I could say it?

pre — raw | prara — gaw — tiv

OK! Maybe I couldn’t say it, but I knew what it meant. YES, I DID!

There will be several big words in this book (in bold letters, underlined, and Italic). I strongly suggest you keep a dictionary close by. You might have to look up a few words. Here is an interesting idea! Once you find out what the word ‘prerogative’ means, write a sentence with it. Use it correctly. What a great way to start a novel study — WITH HOMEWORK! You must love me already!

I live in Canada, in the province of Alberta. I have two brothers and one sister; I am also the uncle of three little boys. I love ice cream, noodles, movies, animals (including dragons), and I love to read. However, I do not like to write, so bear with me as this project is my first attempt at writing something.

READING IS IMPORTANT

my parents started to read to me when

I was just a toddler

Once we know how to read, we can pretty much take the world by the horns. Nothing can stop us. Did you ever think about that? Have you ever heard the popular expression: you are only limited by your imagination? Here is another expression, the sky is the limit! Actually, this one is not as good because if the sky really was the limit, we wouldn’t have astronauts in space? Would we?

And if we allowed our imagination to limit us, we would not have dragons and monsters, vampires and ninjas, ghosts or ghostbusters, transformers, robots, E.T.’s, flying saucers, the Enterprise, Star Wars, WALL-E, Batman, Superman, or Spiderman roaming around our planet now, would we? With a limited imagination, would we have inventors? Film makers? Artificial Intelligence? Computers? Space and Ocean Exploration? Scientists? Doctors? Teachers? And what about authors? Can you imagine a world without authors?

B L A S P H E M Y !

Meet Squeak

This creature is the largest lizard on Earth!

Humans have given this large lizard the name dragon. I wondered why so I decided to find out for myself by conducting my own research. If you visit my website, you will find some links to help you carry out your own investigation. I strongly suggest that you use these notable websites. You will learn the facts about the Komodo, while my story will teach you the ‘fictional truth’ about it. Notice this term: fictional truth? This is called an oxymoron. Look this word up and brainstorm some examples with your teacher and peers. Make a list.

I did not say MORON; I said OXYMORON.

You might want to compare these two words

. . .

This book is about a lizard, the Komodo Dragon of planet Earth. Stepping out of his egg on a mountain top, in the heart of a majestic forest, this little fellow looks around uneasily. He does not know where he is; in fact, he does not know anything at all and therefore, feels afraid and confused.

In order to discover his identity, he will embark on a remarkable journey where he will meet extraordinary characters who will teach him everything he needs to know about his world. He will also learn a great deal about his ancestry and the meaning of life, or rather, the meaning of HIS life. Along the way, the little lizard will meet a kindred spirit of astonishing powers and together, they will encounter some bewildering creatures, survive extraordinary and inconceivable adventures, and undergo impressive transformations.

And who knows?

There might be some shape-shifting and space-traveling involved.

Get ready for a wild ride!

. . .

THE TRUE STORY

of the

KOMODO DRAGON

by

Sébastien Bourbeau

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