Ruth Stiles GannettAnmeldelser

A gentle adventure for early elementary.

Loved this story when I was a kid. Great read-aloud or junior reader book.

With writing is so elegant and illustrations so charming and distinctive, how could I not love this story? True, there's not a whole lot to it--boy meets talking cat, boy runs away from home, boy outsmarts wild animals, boy rescues dragon--but it's a perfect read-aloud for 4- to 7-year-olds. My favorite part is when Elmer brushes the rhino's teeth.

I also really enjoy the fact that even though Elmer is just a little boy to us, he's also the narrator's father, which makes the telling of the story more affectionate than the usual third-person narration.

Reading level: grades 2-6
Awards: John Newbery Medal

;My father's dragon -- Elmer and the dragon -- The dragons of Blueland. A compilation of three tales which relate the fantastic adventures of Elmer Elevator and a baby flying dragon named Boris.

Lots of children's books are interesting for adults, too, but I think there is a point where the book is for such a young reader that it's not going to be fun for an adult. Unfortunately, this book is part of the latter group. It is on the 100 Best Children's Books list, so there is definitely merit here, and the illustrations are lovely. But as an adult who is reading this on my own, it was boring. Why would an adult read a children's book on her own? Because I plan to read every book on the list that I never read as a kid, and so erase the embarrassment of admitting to my library school professor that I'd only read 12 of the listed books. Plus, as I said before, lots of children's and young adult books are very interesting, and good reads at any age.

I just love this book. I really love the visual of the crocodiles with pink lollipops tied to their tales!!

Having just watched and very much enjoyed the animated film, I re-read the book. It's still a great read, just faster at 57 than it was when I was 10. I think I'll go re-read the rest of the series!

Just the kind of silly bedtime story kids love.

So many good childhood memories were created while reading this book over and over again during homeschool kindergarten and beyond.

I had started this with my then. . .4 year old but it got put aside for a Sophie Mouse book phase. I rediscovered it on our way to a PNW camp trip & was the perfect read aloud for my now 5.5 year old & lol sister (2.5). They thoroughly enjoyed hearing about this young boy on a risky venture all on his lonesome.

I read this with my 4 year old daughter and we both really enjoyed it. It's very silly, but also pretty suspenseful at places. I do remember one place where I had to change a word that struck me as problematic (racist), but I don't remember what or where it was.

Delightful read and my daughter and I are already planning on reading it again.

This book is one of the very best read alouds in the first or second grade classroom. The children are spellbound and eager for each session. Elmer travels with a baby dragon all by himself, has an adventure on an island full of canaries, and returns home in about ten days with nice gifts for his parents.

Children of today are so watched over and worried over they can't imagine a boy having an adventure like this on is his own. Young listeners to this story daydream about such a life.

I've read these books twice with R and they are perfect chapter books for kids 5-7. Fun, funny, clever, simple.

Delightful children's book. Just scary enough to be exciting for younger readers and the illustrations are really beautiful.

My granddaughter loved this book!

Cute, the boys liked it.

It's a cute story, good for children.

A story about the narrator's father's adventures, gone fantastic. There are talking animals and a dragon and it's never really clear how much if any of this might have happened... but in the end, does it matter?

It's cute and teaches kids how to solve problems, make new friends, and rescue dragons. Life lessons worth learning.

This book was about a little boy who want to keep a cat. But, his mother said "no". This cat that he wants to keep becomes his best friend and tells him about a island where a dragon is held captive. He decides to go on the journey to free the dragon. The plot of this book was more exciting at the beginning and as it went on it got more repetitive.

I missed this book as a child, and as an adult I looked at it a few times in the library, but it didn't have immediate attraction for me, so my children missed out on it too. Finally, and before my grandchildren could outgrow it too, I read the whole thing and discovered that it's not the kind of book where you can open it and read a few pages to get the flavour. Taken as a whole, however, it's a perfect example of the Quest as found in the best fairytales and folk tales. Talking animal advises young person and helps prepare; young person brings random and inexplicable items; random items suddenly become perfectly sensible in helping young seeker to overcome obstacles, mostly by helping those he meets along the way; quest successfully accomplished; Finis. I now see why so many people insist that My Father's Dragon is the very best first chapter book to offer to new readers. I hope my 8yo Dragon (2012) grandson is not too old for it, but there are still two 4yo boys and a younger girl coming along!½

00002013

A boy talks to a cat who tells him about a secret jungle island where he can find a dragon. He packs a backpack full of useful things and heads off in search of adventure. He finds a lot of wild animals along the way, but each item he brought in his backpack comes in handy in finding his way to the dragon.

This was my absolute favorite book when I was a kid. I didn’t have my own copy so I would always go over to my friend’s house just so I could read her copy. It has beautiful illustrations by the author’s stepmother, including a spectacular map with tiny animals on it. Highly recommend if you like old kids’ adventure books.½

The third and final book in this series, this book also has the whimsical illustrations and airy storytelling as the previous book. I think this book series is a beautifully written one and I would love to have this be a reading assignment in a future classroom.

If I were to go on an adventure with a dragon, I would want it to be this one! I loved the light airy storytelling and the whimsical illustrations that accompanied it.

This was truly delightful! I'm a big fan of children's fantasy, as it turns out, because I loved every minute of this! It's whimsical and magical and really just great. It has the same vibe as The Little Prince, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland, but a bit lighter on the dark themes. It's definitely something I'm going to be reading to my future children.