My Father's Dragon Author:Ruth Stiles Gannett My Father's Dragon is a children's novel by Ruth Stiles Gannett about a young boy, Elmer Elevator, who runs away to Wild Island to rescue a baby dragon. Both a Newbery Honor Book and an ALA Notable Book, it is the first book of a trilogy whose other titles are Elmer and the Dragon and The Dragons of Blueland. It was made into an anime film title... more »d, Elmer's Adventures: My Father's Dragon. The narrative mode is unusual, in that the narrator refers to the protagonist only as "my father", giving the impression that this is a true story that happened long ago. The illustrations within the book are black and white done with a grease crayon on a grained paper, done by Ruth Chrisman Gannett. The story was cited as a runner-up for the Newbery Medal in 1949 and was an ALA Notable Book. It was also nominated for the Ambassador Book Award in 1948. In the story, we meet some tigers, a rhinoceros, a lion, and a gorilla all leading to the baby dragon. There is also a river, an island, and a bridge.« less
This is the first in a trilogy about a little boy who rescues an oppressed baby dragon...very funny, very cute! I read this aloud to my 4,5, and 7 year old boys and they LOVED it!
I got a copy of this book to read with my five year old son. It is a very fun and clever childrens 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 cant 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.
