Customer Reviews

The Suburban Dragon

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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This is a delightful book with surprises and lots of fun.

The first sentence of the book caught my attention "It was a cold day in the tiny suburb called Chippewa Valley", which included an artistic depiction of storms, crooked houses and jagged lightning. I could almost hear the thunder.

So, of course, that one page drew me to another and another. The pictures are bright, even in the gloomy day, and there are subtle hints that quick eyes will find and put together as the story moves on.

Mom, ever the heroine, decides to read the three children their favorite story book, but discovers they had heard it too many times and were bored. Just then, however, the Suburban Dragon comes around the sofa and steals Mom away.

The wicked storm, the terrifying dragon, and their missing Mom puts their acute imaginations into overdrive. They will find a way to save her. No dragon was going to steal their Mom and keep her. The day passed quickly as they worked on their trap to capture the dragon, who might have been breathing fire.

Their enchanting imagination creates all of the items for their plan to work, and then they begin the process. By working together, the siblings learn many things, solve problems, and face the fiery dragon together.

Enjoy this with your children. I chuckled and smiled through it, then handed it to my mom to read. Her reaction was the same as mine. Two 5 star ratings for The Suburban Dragon by Garasamo Maccagnone with illustrations by Al Ochsner.


Victoria Tarrani

Garasamo Maccagnone is rapidly becoming one of our more important and original writers of books for children (and adults...). As in his previous book FOR THE LOVE OF ST. NICK Maccagnone takes a simple setting, creates an involving story idea, develops his characters well, and then polishes off his tale with some solid guides for parenting - all in the format of a beautifully illustrated ( by Al Ochsner) book for youngsters. The result of his imagination and creation is the ability to write creative, innovative stories that appeal to a wide age range of children while offering the adult reader an involvement in the story as well.

THE SUBURBAN DRAGON relates a mother reading a story to her three children on a stormy evening. A disruption in the family process happens with the emergence of a non-fire breathing dragon from behind the sofa - a beastie that kidnaps the mother, setting in motion a well-planned rescue attack by the children. The surprise comes at the end in a manner that reinforces the value of family and lessons that can be learned in times of crisis - even if that lesson is played out in the form of costumed fantasy!

Al Ochsner's colorful watercolor paintings greatly enhance Garasamo Maccagnone's story. Together they have created a little book that should find its way into every child's library. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, February 09

I bought this book for my grand daughter when she was six. She is now seven and still loves this book. We keep it at my house for her to read when she visits and she reads it often. Sometimes she reads it herself, and sometimes one of us will read it for her. She loves dragons and doesn't seem to ever tire of this story!

Garrett, Anthony and Aimee are bored. The stormy weather have them stuck inside with nothing fun to do. Mom makes an attempt to entertain them by reading their favorite book but can't seem to get them engaged in the story. Dad uses his creative thinking to create a dragon costume and acts out a real life emergency situation. The kids are totally drawn into the mystery and devise a plan to get their mother back.

THE SUBURBAN DRAGON uses imagination to turn a hum drum rainy day into one full of adventure. The characters are well developed and the illustrations are powerful. The lessons conveyed will provide hours of conversation for children and adults alike. THE SUBURBAN DRAGON would be a wonderful addition to any library.

Deltareviewer
Reviewing for Real Page Turners

A wonderful little story your family will love (and relate to)! This is one of those books I can't wait to share with my 5-yr-old reader. He will love the whimsy and humor.

What can a parent do for children when they are bored? One cold, rainy day in the tiny suburb of Chippewa Valley, Garrett, Aimee, and little Anthony are not allowed to play outside and cannot think of anything to do. So their mother decides to read to them from their favorite book. All of a sudden, from behind the sofa, a dragon jumps out, picks up mom, and runs out of the room. The children need to come up with a plan to save their mother. Will they be able to defeat the dragon and rescue Mom? And, wait a minute--that dragon looks rather familiar. Could it be...?

The Suburban Dragon is a fun children's picture book that also exhibits some positive attributes. Mom reads aloud to her children. Garrett, Aimee, and Anthony use their imagination. And, well, Dad plays an important part in there somewhere. Garasamo Maccagnone's exciting text and Al Ochsner's comic book style illustrations combine to tell a tale that youngsters will most surely enjoy--and probably want to hear again and again. And I think that parents will like it too.

Garrett, Anthony and Aimee are bored. It is raining outside and there simply is nothing to do. Mom decides that it would be a good time to read them their favorite book and she huddles them all on the sofa. But, that was boring too and than something happened, something quite scary. All of a sudden a big Dragon appeared and stole mom. Oh no! Now it is up to the children to rescue their mom from the terrible Dragon. They had to come up with a plan, and it had to be quickly before mom is gone forever. Will they rescue mom? Will their plan work?

This is a cute book. I liked the way the author allowed the children to come together in unity and solve the problem before them. They were quite ingenious in coming up with a solution, and the ending was happy. The illustrations are nicely done, colorful, bold, and definitely bring the story to life, taking you through each phase of the children's rescue plan. Good job, a book your children and you will enjoy.

What can keep the kids busy on a rainy, boring afternoon? How about chasing after a mommy-snatching dragon in Chippewa Valley?

Garrett, Anthony, and Aimee are bored. It's a rainy day with nothing to do and their mother says they cannot go outside. So Mommy pulls out their favorite story, snuggles up with them on the couch and begins to read. But it's not helping.

When a dragon suddenly appears from behind the couch and runs off with their mother, the three children plot a daring rescue to save her and capture the dragon.

Garasamo Maccagnone has come up with a funny, enjoyable story for young readers with "The Suburban Dragon".

Readers will love this story of three children's adventures on a rainy, boring day. Through an imaginative storyline and magnificant illustrations, your children will follow along as Garrett, Anthony, and Aimee plot their daring rescue.

My children loved "The Suburban Dragon" and have asked for me to read it over and over again. The bright, colorful illustrations capture their attention and bring the story to life. And the surprise at the end is something they always enjoy.

If you're looking for a quick, enjoyable, and fun read for the children in your life, look no further than "The Suburban Dragon" by Garasamo Maccagnone.

The Suburban Dragon by Garasamo Maccagnone is a cute children's book. The small children are sitting in their living room comfortably with their mother when they hear a scary noise. Startled by the noise, the children soon discover, by a loud boisterous roar, that a big giant green dragon is hiding behind the couch. The children huddle with their mother and then the dragon captures their mother. The book is well illustrated and the dragon is big and scary. This is a nice picture book. Children ages 4-8 will enjoy this book. They will be sitting on the edge of their seat wondering what happens to the kids, the mom and that big scary dragon.

In this delightful children's book , three bored youngsters just don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy, stormy day. Their mother suggested that they snuggle on the couch and she would read them a story. Even their favorite book didn't keep them from yawning and being fidgety. All of a sudden from out behind the couch leapt a big scary dragon, roaring and snorting. When the dragon suddenly grabbed their mother and started to run away with her, the kids knew they had to be brave and save their Mommy.

The first thing to do, they agreed, is to make a plan for the daring rescue. This plan included ingeneous disguyzzs and traps so the three of them dressed up: Garrett put on an army helmet and had all his ammunition, Anthony donned a hockey helmet and tin foil protection. Finally, Aimee Put on her grandmother's wedding gown and a wig. After all, she was a Princess! The plan was to trick the dragon to come back into the living room so they could capture him but when Aimee took another look at the scary dragon it was not who she thought it would be. Gasp, big surprise! Well, they certainly weren't bored anymore.

Al Oschsner does a wonderful job with the illustrations. The images are large and nicely colored, almost as if they were watercolored. The first page really sets the scene with dark clouds, lightning and pouring rain. All the characters have very appropriate facial expressions. The story line is magical, comical and endearing all at the same time. What better way for children to use their imagination on a rainy day than to plot a daring rescue and trap a big scary dragon. I can't imagine a child not being enchanted with this book. 5 *****