My Father's Dragon (Ruth Stiles Gannett)

 

Did this as a quick class read/novel study. We focused on keeping a list of characters and writing a couple sentences after each chapter. Couldn't find much in the way of notice and note sign posts. Watched the Netflix movie after. The kids loved both. The movie is very different from the book!

Goodreads says:

Elmer Elevator (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.

Here Be Dragons (Susannah Lloyd)

 

I think I will love reading this book aloud to my class. It kind of reminds me of Sam and Dave Dig a HoleSam and Dave Dig a Hole. Foolishness which doesn't fool the kids is always a hit. 

Goodreads says:

Children will love this funny, witty and hugely enjoyable book about a very silly knight who goes in search of a dragon!

This book is about a knight on a mission: to find and slay a dragon. The other knights have told him that there's no such thing as dragons, but he doesn't care. For he has a map, and the map says: 

"HERE BE DRAGONS."

He travels right to the spot marked ‘X’, past treasure, suspicious bones and many signs telling him to turn back. He wanders up and down a huge, spiky hill (the dragon's back) shouts into a burrow (the dragon's nose) and eventually walks into a cave (the dragon's mouth)… Will the hapless knight see the dragon before it's too late?! 

Young readers will love spotting the dragon in the background in this laugh-out-loud story from the author of This Book Can Read Your Mind. 

Beautiful and comedic illustrations with hidden clues hinting at the dragon's whereabouts accompany funny and lively text which young readers and their parents alike will love to read aloud!

Boy (Phil Cummings)

 

This is a fabulous story. My students loved telling me about signs they know in sign language and they laughed at the silliness of all the fighting with the king, the knights and the dragon attempt to justify their actions. Sometimes not listening to people has its advantages.

"He showed them how their days could be without fighting and fear."

Goodreads says:

The kings battles with the dragon were always mighty and loud... CLING CLANG CLONG! ROAR!

Boy lived in a silent world and couldn't hear the fighting. But Boy could see the fear around him... and how everyone would be much happier.

The Dragon Thief (Zetta Elliott)

 

I reluctantly did this as a read aloud. We did the first book as a read aloud and it ended with such a cliff hanger that I gave in to reading the second one aloud. It ended up going over winter break though so it felt like it took us forever to finish it. Coincidentally, the 3rd book comes out on this very day! It's only in hard-cover though so we're going to have to wait...if only for the reason that I don't want to have the first two books in soft cover and then the third in hard cover! LOL I might take it out from the public library though and read it on my own. 

Dragons and magic are all really fun. In addition to that, I think this author does a good job of incorporating lessons and big topics without making it too pedantic or preachy. I will be able to find lots of reasons to refer back to it  for elaborative detail and stretching out a main event. It's a great book!

Notice and Note Signposts:

Theme: Belonging (p. 22)  Fitting in (p. 24)

Memory Moment: 

• Dad's death pp. 40-41

Again and Again

• Kenny/Jax - dads are absent

Words of the wiser

• p. 22 When you lose your home you lose part of yourself
• p. 24 Mumy says you can lose yourself if you try too hard to fit in
• p. 146
• p. 148

Contrasts and Contradictions

• p. 30

Ah ha Moment

Tough Questions

• p. 108 How To Handle Blue

Goodreads says:

Stealing a baby dragon was easy! Hiding it is a little more complicated.

Jaxon had just one job--to return three baby dragons to the realm of magic. But when he got there, only two dragons were left in the bag. His best friend's sister, Kavita, is a dragon thief!

Kavita only wanted what was best for the baby dragon. But now every time she feeds it, the dragon grows and grows! How can she possibly keep it secret? Even worse, stealing it has upset the balance between the worlds. The gates to the other realm have shut tight! Jaxon needs all the help he can get to find Kavita, outsmart a trickster named Blue, and return the baby dragon to its true home.

Dragons in a Bag (Zetta Elliot)

 

This is a 2021 Global Read Aloud pick. I'm hoping that this year I can actually connect with another class as we use it for a read aloud. It's a great story! One thing that concerns me is that they only read a couple chapters a week. I'm not sure we can drag it out that long! I'd definitely be interested in reading the next books in the series.

There are lots of topics that could be discussed in this story: diversity, forgiveness, racism, segregation, forgiveness,  etc.  

In time we could use this as a "book club" book paired with Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher.

Read aloud to my class in October/November2021. It is way better as a read aloud! Then again, most books are.

Notice and Note Signposts

Words of the Wiser

• p. 116 Trub to Jax re: segregation
• p. 128...if you believe

Memory Moment

Contrasts and Contradictions

• p. 8 beer
• p. 10 box with no addresses
• p. 48 Ambrose invisible? 

Again and Again

Ah ha moments

Tough Qs

Goodreads says:

The dragon's out of the bag in this diverse, young urban fantasy from an award-winning author!

When Jaxon is sent to spend the day with a mean old lady his mother calls Ma, he finds out she's not his grandmother--but she is a witch! She needs his help delivering baby dragons to a magical world where they'll be safe. There are two rules when it comes to the dragons: don't let them out of the bag, and don't feed them anything sweet. Before he knows it, Jax and his friends Vikram and Kavita have broken both rules! Will Jax get the baby dragons delivered safe and sound? Or will they be lost in Brooklyn forever?

Dragon Was Terrible

This reminds me of the Jimmy Kimmell type videos where he asks kids the baddest words they know. This dragon does stuff that will make kids reel!! ....or laugh their head's off.

I am not that familiar with Kelly DiPucchio, but she gets rave reviews. I'm really enjoying her books!

Goodreads says:

We all know dragons are terrible, but this one is especially terrible. He scribbles in books. He steals candy from baby unicorns. He even burps in church. Seriously, who does that? Dragon, that's who. The king, the knights, and the villagers are desperate to take down this beast once and for all. But sometimes it's up to the unlikeliest of heroes to tame a dragon this terrible.

Princess Smartypants Breaks the Rules

She's at it again. And I love it! In this book she recruits more princesses to see things her way. Fun story.


Goodreads says:

When the Queen packs off Princess Smartypants to finishing school, it seems that our favourite royal might become a perfect princess after all . . . huh, no chance! Instead, Princess Smartypants makes her own school rules and teaches those other do-goody princesses just exactly how to have fun.

Mrs. Smartypants Rules (Babette Cole)

My conservative  upbringing makes me cringe a little at Princess Smartypants - and party of me delights in reading it. Not everyone wants to get married. Nor does Princess Smartypants. In this book she wants a baby, but her parents say she can't because she doesn't have a prince. She ends up getting a baby by mistake when a recipe goes awry. Then she finds out it's not that fun and finds two dragon eggs to hatch and become her full time babysitters.

After reading a couple Princess Smartypants books I had to find out about Babette Cole. I think I like her!

Why did she write stories like this?

 .... partly because she liked to shock and partly because she felt she had a duty to make sure children were properly informed. (from an obituary in The Guardian)

And you know, that isn't always a bad thing!

Goodreads says:

Princess Smartypants has always preferred her royal pets to a pesky prince, but when she decides it would be lovely to have a baby, nothing can stand in her way!
Sure enough, a twist of fate brings her just what she has been hoping for, but she soon realizes babies can be an awful lot of trouble. Perhaps Princess Smartypants wasn't cut out for motherhood after all-but fortunately she knows just who is. . . .
Publishers Weekly wrote of the first Princess Smartypants, "Truly comical watercolors in softly glowing colors complement this fairy tale parody perfectly . . . an appealing book for budding feminists."
This is a hilarious royal romp, packed with action and drama, from master storyteller Babette Cole. 

Dragon's Extraordinary Egg (Debi Gliori)

Very well written. Captured my student's attention immensely. It was interesting to have a discussion after. The book doesn't use the word adoption, however, it came up in our discussion. Some kids figured the dragon must have been a penguin wearing a costume. Their experience told them penguins have penguins for parents. One boy in our class, however, knows about adoption and suggested that they could be adopted. We had a great discussion about what adoption means.

Goodreads Summary:

In this heartwarming story, a dragon in need of an egg finds an abandoned egg in need of a mommy. It seems like the perfect fit, but when that egg hatches, the little baby doesn't look like all the other dragons. In fact, he looks a lot like a penguin! Of course, his mommy loves him no matter what. But the other young dragons aren't so sure. Little do they know that their feathered friend's differences will save the day! Sometimes things happen for a reason . . . and some families are just meant to be together.