A boy goes on a journey to rescue a dragon, who is being kept as means of transportation on an island of talking animals. It just so happens that the things the boy packs for his trip, which seem completely random and useless at the time, are exactly what he needs to achieve his goal. ( )

My Father's Dragon--a favorite of young readers since the 1940s and a Newbery honor book--captures the nonsensical logic of childhood in an amusingly deadpan fashion. The story begins when Elmer Elevator (the narrator's father as a boy) runs away with an old alley cat to rescue a flying baby dragon being exploited on a faraway island. With the help of two dozen pink lollipops, rubber bands, chewing gum, and a fine-toothed comb, Elmer disarms the fiercest of beasts on Wild Island. The quirky, comical adventure ends with a heroic denouement: the freeing of the dragon. Abundant black-and-white lithographs by Ruth Chrisman Gannett (the author's stepmother) add an evocative, lighthearted mood to an already enchanting story. Author Ruth Stiles Gannett 's stand-alone sequel, Elmer and the Dragon, and her third volume, The Dragons of Blueland both received starred reviews in School Library Journal and are as fresh and original as her first. (Ages 4 to 8)

A cute little story about Elmer, a boy who runs away from home to rescue a baby dragon. The dragon is being held prisoner on an island full of wild animals. They keep him tied up next to a river, and use him to ferry across. Advised by an old alley cat he befriended, Elmer fills his backpack with some unlikely-sounding items: chewing gum, colored hair ribbons, pink lollipops, six magnifying glasses, etc. Each of these things eventually comes in handy as Elmer uses them to help and/or thwart the wild animals he meets in his journey. It's really quite clever. My daughter loved this book and all the distinctive, charming illustrations by Ruth Chrisman Gannett.

From the Dog Ear Diary ( )

A young boy determines to rescue a poor baby dragon who is being used by a group of lazy wild animals to ferry them across the river on Wild Island.

Hands down the greatest book I've ever read!

It is about a boy named Elmer finding an alley cat and helping save a baby dragon from Wild Island and saving his family.

- Amatullah A.