One Dragon's Dream [Hardcover]

Peter Pavey (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Elaborate, fanciful illustrations turn this counting book into a true adventure — and a delightful hunt for hidden clues.

ONE DRAGON HAD A DREAM
THAT TWO TURKEYS TEASED HIM . . .

Enter the strange and surreal dream world of a dragon — and pore over intricately detailed illustrations to discover a wealth of visual surprises. Each spread features a number from one to ten, and each illustration embodies bountiful examples of that number, if only you can spot them all! An instant classic in Australia when it was first published in 1978, this one-of-a-kind counting book continues to enchant.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2–3—One dragon falls asleep under his green-checked blanket and dreams of two turkeys that tease him. The odd dream continues, and an ever-increasing number of animals (three tigers, four frogs, and so on) torment the poor dragon in some way. Eventually, the hapless creature is brought into court, sentenced, and "juggled off to jail" by seven slippery sea lions. In the end, he is rescued and "towed home to bed" by a "team of ten turtles." The dragon wakes safe and sound under his cozy blanket. The spare text is enhanced by the author's imaginatively frenetic ink and watercolor illustrations. Each spread is a puzzle of random objects to be counted. As five kangaroos fence in the dragon, children can also search for five owls, five dogs, five buttons, and a plethora of other items grouped in fives on the page. Much of the imagery evokes the magical age of knights and dragons. This book is not as kid-friendly as Leo and Diane Dillon's cheerful Mother Goose Numbers on the Loose (Harcourt, 2007), but older readers may appreciate this surreal counting book's sophisticated themes and elaborate illustrations.—Linda L. Walkins, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Brighton, MA
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About the Author

Peter Pavey, the creator of many innovative picture books, took three years to complete the intricate artwork for ONE DRAGON'S DREAM. He lives in Australia.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (September 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763644706
• ISBN-13: 978-0763644703
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 0.4 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,110,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing, compelling, interesting over and over again, February 9, 2007

By 

A. Woodley "Patroness, Janeites, the Austen list" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Dragon's Dream (Picture Puffin) (Paperback)

This is a truly extraodinary book, quite odd, but wonderfully, compellingly interestingly so.

This is a counting book, but it is also an observation book and allows so many questions, it is really impressive. There are a couple of illustrations in the first two pages of a dragon going to bed, then the very simple text starts. It is one dragon's dream, each follwoing pages has animals involved in a strange (and very dreamlike!) court case against the dragon - but in each picture the number is repeatedly used. So In the Four Frogs picture there are four cards, four trees, four jettys, and so on. The children have a great time counting all the objects and figuring out what they are. We can spend hours on this book through the week.

The illustrations are very appealing and unusual - intriguing. This is one of hte books which you can easily read again and again with your children. Lovely.

5.0 out of 5 stars New favorite---beautiful and mesmerizing illustrations, May 12, 2010

By 

Himalayan Mommy (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: One Dragon's Dream (Hardcover)

the illustrations and story in this counting book are amazing. I highly recommend this book for your child. Each of the animals has such great personality. The illustrations have details that will keep you looking for all the new finds each time you read this.

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure trove of fabulous ideas and hidden, clever, jokes and riddles in the spectacular illustrations, November 19, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Dragon's Dream (Hardcover)

"One Dragon's Dream" is the kind of children's counting book that is rife with a treasure trove of fabulous ideas and hidden, clever, jokes and riddles in the spectacular illustrations. Every child lucky enough to have a copy of "One Dragon's Dream" will experience countless hours of pleasure in sifting through each detailed full page, or two-page picture. The fantastic animals and ideas are just outrageous enough to be gripping and funny, with a friendly underbite of testy reality that makes it all so very believable. Don't waste time reading this review. Order a copy of "One Dragon's Dream" for every child in your life immediately plus one or maybe two for yourself. You won't regret it. The author has reportedly retired from writing and illustrating and works on a walnut farm in Australia. We can only hope that he will resume his creative efforts one happy day. Meantime, get "One Dragon's Dream" for every child you love immediately!