Customer Reviews

My Father's Dragon

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This was the first chapter book I read to my son, when he was 4, and I couldn't have found a better choice. The story is simple and easy to follow — a nine-year-old boy saves an enslaved baby dragon and then flies home on the dragon's back. The book's language is simple and direct. And there's a black and white drawing on almost every other page, which is perfect, because most young children still need a picture to look at while they're listening.

The best thing about the book for me was that even though there's plenty of action (mostly involving the little boy outsmarting a series of wild animals in order to reach the dragon), there's nothing the least bit scary here. That was very important to me as the mother of a four-year-old. The book was written in the forties, and it has a sweet, gentle, old-fashioned quality that it's hard to find in any form of entertainment for young children today. (Even Disney is too intense for a lot of four-year-olds.) It has the kind of innocence most of us would like our children to be able to hang on to for a few years.

My son loved the book so much we read it over and over again, and went on to read the other two books in the series (Elmer and the Dragon and The Dragons of Blueland) many times as well.

Years later, when he was in third grade, his teacher mentioned to me that she was hunting for a chapter book to read to the class, but wasn't having much luck. Everything she looked at seemed beyond the attention span of many of the kids in her class. I told her about My Father's Dragon, but I also said it probably wasn't exciting enough to hold the attention of third graders. But she tried it anyway, and later told me that kids who had never shown any interest in books were reminding her every day to read another chapter. She, too, went on to read the whole series.

It's a great introduction to chapter books. More important, it's a lovely, gentle book to share with a child.

I've been expecting my seven year old son to become, like the rest of the world, an addict of the Harry Potter books, but no dice.

Instead, he came home from his multi-age class rhapsodizing about a book I had never heard of...My Father's Dragon. And although I haven't read it (yet), I can tell you for sure what happens in the first five chapters, because my son tells us all with such verve and enthusiasim about the adventures that take place there! How the narrator's father gets out of the tigers, and builds a bridge with the crocodiles are two of his favorite parts, and the words "Bome Cack! Bome Cack!! have entered our vocabularies probably forever.

I think the three books in this series will be entering our household at Christmas time, and I can't wait to read them myself!

MY FATHER'S DRAGON tells the story of Elmer Elevator. When he hears the plight of a baby dragon captured and enslaved by the residents of Wild Island, he leaves home to free the animal. Armed only with gum, lollipops, magnifying glasses, hair ribbons, and other such items, he sets out. But will this be enough to face lions, tigers, gorillas, and crocodiles?

This is a fun early reader chapter book. The chapters are the perfect length to hook the beginning reader. The story is imaginative, delightful, and downright funny in spots while still being simple enough for young kids to follow. I reread it recently for the first time in years and was surprised at how short and simple it really was. When I was a boy, it seemed much longer and more complicated. There are numerous drawings that wonderfully highlight some of the funnier parts of the story. Adults should enjoy it just as much as their kids.

Readers of this book will want to get the other two in the series and read the further adventures of Elmer. This is a series that will be enjoyed for generations to come.

Before I could read, my mother must have read this story to me a hundred times (at my request, no insistance)! I loved this book - it's such an imaginative, upbeat, and entertaining story. I just bought a copy for my great-neices who are 9 and 6 years old. I'm sure they will love all three dragon stories as much as I did (and still do).

I read this book for the first time in 3rd grade. It is a book I reread every year to remember the ability of a great book to take you away. I am now 25 and have to replace the 3rd copy of the book, as it gets so much wear. A wonderful and timeless book for children

I read this book to my five-year old son and his four-year old friend in one sitting. It took us a little over an hour. They were enthralled thru the entire story. It is about the clever tactics a boy employs to free a dragon from a island of animals.

I sent this book for "silent reading" with my 7 year old to school. She's supposed to do 30 minutes a day. I was shocked when I picked her up and she was on page 80! I asked how she did that. Well, she found the book so engaging she took it to lunch, PE and read in between doing other work. She left it in her school desk and was screaming and running back to class to get it so she could finish it.

I check out a LOT of library books but have yet to see something like this before. I think the reviewer who pegged it as a great first chapter book is correct. There are a lot of pictures which young kids still like, short easy to read pages and of course a wonderful engaging story. You can't miss with this book!

I have loved this book since I was first read it in kindergarden. I love the characters, the alley cat, elmer's mother, the dragon, all the animals on the island...they are all loaded with human insecurities and flaws...that I (unknowingly) learned of soo young. I still dream of the images.. elmer hidden in a bag of tangerines. a braided & bowed lion. a tusk-toothpaste-brushing rhinosaurus. The illustrations are absolutely inspiring to children. To this day, at 22, 17 years since I first fell in love with the characters, I cherish a photo-copied illustration of the rhino brushing his tusks. The list of supplies needed for elmer's journey, I can still see in my head. This was the first book I remember being excited to master (as a reader). If you're looking for a book to inspire your child, both in their literacy and creativity...I am a living validation of both. Please share this wonderful story.

Oh my gosh ... What a TERRIFIC book for young readers - expecially boys! My son is in 1st grade and this is the first book he has been EXCITED to read on his own! Everything in this book is fascinating: the names of locations in the story (ie, Tangerina Island where tangerine trees grow), the baby dragon who is being held captive by selfish animals, the way Elmer (a normal little boy) finds out about the dragon's plight and then tricks the dragon's captors with simple objects (pink lollipops, chewing gum, etc.) I can't believe I never read this when I was a child - I never even heard of it - and it was published in the 1940's. This is a classic, perfect for 7-9 year olds, especially boys.

I read this one to my great-grandson when he was four years old, and he listened wide-eyed and was entranced.

This is a good, well illustrated kid's book with nothing objectionable to take away from its entertainment value.

I recommend it for children, aged 4 to ?.

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