My Father's Dragon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0440421217 ISBN 13: 9780440421214

Publisher: Yearling, 2005

The Newbery Honor-winning classic about a daring dragon rescue!

When Elmer Elevator hears about the baby dragon being held captive on Wild Island, he knows just what to do. First, he packs his knapsack with important supplies, like chewing gum, lollipops, and lots of rubberbands. Then he stows away on a ship headed for theisland. Along the way, Elmer meets many exotic animals. Each tries to sidetrack him, but Elmer has sometricks up his sleeve . . . or more precisely, in his knapsack. One way or another, he will rescue the dragon!

First published in 1948, My Father’s Dragon has delighted generations of young readers. It is classic storytelling at its finest.

AN ALA NOTABLE BOOK 
A COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS TEXT EXEMPLAR IN APPENDIX B 

"A real delight." —The New Yorker 

Review:

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)

From the Inside Flap:

When Elmer Elevator hears about the plight of an overworked and underappreciated baby flying dragon, he stows away on a ship and travels to Wild Island to rescue the dragon.