Dragon and Captain

“Hey, Pirate. What are you doing in my sandbox?” “I'm not a pirate. I'm the captain of a ship.” What is Captain doing in Dragon's sandbox? He is moping. Because he’s lost his ship. “Oh, no! I'll help you find it! Come on!” “Where are we going?” “To my cave! I know I have a map somewhere.”

Armed with a (toy watch) compass, a (paper-towel tube) telescope, and a (hand-drawn) map, Dragon and Captain set off on a great adventure. Dragon is a boy in pajamas and a dragon robe. Captain is a boy with a three-sided hat. But as the boys' imaginations take over, we see them as they see themselves and the backyard as the boys see it: a dark forest, a craggy cliff, and the immense sea. Illustrated like a comic book, this book is a fantasy-filled graphic novel for the picture book set. Young readers will be enchanted with—and parents will appreciate—the creative backyard play, in which the boys use the simplest found items and the backyard features to create an elaborate adventure. Can Dragon and Captain find the lost ship before lunch?

P. R. Allabach is a small-business owner who served in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. Dragon and Captain is his first picture book. He lives in Wilmington, North Carolina. Lucas Turnbloom is an award-winning cartoonist and illustrator best known for his comic strip, "Imagine THIS," which is syndicated through Universal Press/Uclick. He is a contributing artist to the Peanuts' 65th Anniversary Tribute Anthology coming in the fall of 2015, and the co-creator, co-writer, and illustrator of a full-color graphic novel series with actor Greg Grunberg, to be published by Scholastic in September 2015. While working for several years as a feature artist for the San Diego daily newspaper, The North County Times, Turnbloom earned 16 first-place awards for his cartoons and illustrations. Turnbloom was a contributing artist for Darkhorse's Axe Cop graphic novel series, and Andrews McMeel Universal's Eisner and Harvey award-nominated anthology, Team Cul de Sac: Drawing the line at Parkinsons. His work has also appeared in USA Today, and TIME.com. Dragon and Captain is his first picture book. Turnbloom lives in Santee, CA.