My Father's Dragon (1948)

I read this online at my own father's behest. The pencil illustrations are just lovely. The animals are clearly based on close observation (well, except the dragon, one must assume) and the boy is adorable. The story is fun- the boy packs the most unlikely things in his backpack, and the ways he is called upon to use them during his adventure are silly and hilarious. Delightful book. ( )

This is a great chapter book for children to start with. It has great vocabulary for them to learn and has interesting illustrations that depict the story very well. I think children will enjoy it because it is action based and entertaining. I liked this beginning chapter book a lot!

I thought that this book was a great beginner chapter book for children. It is a fun, up beat story about a boy who is on Wild island to save the the dragon. On his journey he encounters many talking creatures but he uses the objects in his backpack to help them and save himself from being eaten as well as saving the dragon. I thought that it was a children friendly storyline that keeps the reader interested and an opportunity to expand reading comprehension. Overall the stories narration brings the reader along for the adventure on Wild Island.

The theme of the story is friendship and adventure. The boys takes the reader through the various encounters he has on the island and it creates his determination to save the dragon. The boys determination demonstrates his loyalty and friendship towards the importance of rescuing the dragon. This book is a great read for students to enjoy and get a sense of loyalty.

I got a copy of this book to read with my five year old son. It is a very fun and clever children’s read with some great lessons and some wonderful illustrations.

When Elmer Elevator hears about the plight of a poor overworked baby dragon from an old neighborhood cat he is determined to save the dragon. He travels to Wild Island and, through a series of crazy events, saves the dragon from the animals keeping it prisoner.

This book was first published in 1948 and I am amazed at how well it has aged. The writing is fairly simple and is definitely at a younger level but it still made for an excellent story. There are a couple spots where the language is a bit archaic but not many.

Elmer Elevator encounters a number of less than friendly animals and for each encounter he finds a clever (and sometimes hilarious) way to distract the animals. For example he gives the rhino a toothbrush and toothpaste for his very dirty horn and he gives the tigers chewing gum. It was great fun to see how Elmer would combat the next group of animals.

Additionally all the lands have wonderfully fun names. Elmer lives in the land of Popsicornia and travels through Tangerina (known for its tangerines) to get to Wild Island.

Elmer uses cleverness instead of violence or force to get through his adventures. He also frees the poor baby dragon from slavery. All while eating tangerines. The only part of the story parents might object to is the fact that Elmer runs away from his parents at the age of nine to do all of this.

My son loved this book and immediately wanted to start on the second book of the trilogy, Elmer and the Dragon. The pictures throughout are fun and wonderfully done. They match the tone of the story excellently.

Overall a wonderful fantasy read for children. This is a chapter book but is written at a lower reading level that is easy for younger children (5+) to understand even if they can’t quite read it yet. Elmer uses cleverness and humor to survive his noble adventure. The wonderful pictures only add to the excellent story. Highly recommended to read with kids, especially those interested in adventure and fantasy. ( )

A young boy hears about the plight of a mistreated baby dragon and travels to Wild Island to find it. On his journey, the boy meets a variety of animals that he must trick in order to evade so that he may be allowed to continue. Reminiscent of a nursery rhyme, this is a chapter book for young readers and it pushes students to think about the cause and effect relationship among problems that the animals have and how they can be alleviated with the objects the boy carries in his backpack. Slightly silly in nature, this book pushes students to think outside the box and make predictions about what they think will happen. ( )