The Laughing Dragon

A weird, warped version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer introduces us to Hojo, a dragon who accidentally spews fire whenever he laughs. The emperor of Japan doesn't let him play any palace games, sending Hojo into exile, until a snowy winter natural disaster gives the dragon a shot at redemption.

Silly and weirdly drawn.

Side Note: I was ordering books for my wife from her Christmas want-list and inadvertently ordered copies of Mr. Biddle and the Birds on two separate orders weeks apart. Fortunately for me, the publisher of this book and the Biddle book used the same ISBN on their title pages back in the 1970s, and the book dealer pulls stock by ISBN instead of title, so instead of getting two Biddle books in the mail, I lucked into show more having two different books to wrap without even realizing the mistakes made by me, the dealer, and the publisher. My wife immediately knew this book wasn't on her want-list, but she also recognized it as a book she cherished as a child but had forgotten about, so it should have been on her want-list. The situation made a delightful surprise for her and a nifty research project for me unraveling the series of errors. No need for a return in the end, and we learn that three wrongs can make a right. A Christmas miracle! show less

You decide: is it dated or retro? Were you 7 or 8 years old in 1970? I was, and I appreciate this book. But if I had actually read it back then, I'd probably nostalgically love it to pieces. Very cute and smart if you happen to have access to a copy, but not worth a search.

This is a cute little story with wonderful pictures, very different. There is no overwhelming moral that I can detect which is not necessarily a bad thing. This is a book I remember reading as a child at my doctor's office that I found a year or so ago at a used bookstore and have just gotten around to cataloging. Re-reading the story of a dragon whose laughter gets him banished really brought me back to my childhood. Love this!

http://www.childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=94
Story takes place in Japan. As the Emperor was about to eat his morning egg, out jumped a little smiling dragon. The Emperor names him Hojo and he becomes the Imperial Pet. He makes himself very useful by cooking food, heating the palace, etc. However, every time Hojo laughed, out came flames. The Imperial Physician tried everything to put out Hojo's fire. One day, the Palace caught on fire and Hojo was sent to a small island. On this island there lived a turtle, George. Hojo and George became good friends. Because of the warmth of Hojo's fire, the island became a beautiful place where all the birds from Japan migrated to. They told Hojo how Japan was having the worst show more winter ever. George tries to teach Hojo to hold his breath ... inflating like a balloon, Hojo floats towards Japan. They reach Japan where Hojo rescues everyone. show less

One of the most read in our family.