It’s only fair to say that my kids liked this book a lot.

My Father’s Dragon is a Newberry Honor book from 1948. It concerns the adventures of the narrator’s father, one Elmer Elevator (“Elmer”? Shouldn’t that be “Otis”?), when as a young lad he traveled to Wild Island to rescue a baby dragon. In form, the book is a fairy tale: the prince (Elmer) sets off to seek his fortune (the baby dragon) and has to overcome a sequence of obstacles along the way (the wild animals that want to eat him and prevent him from stealing their dragon). The prince has to rely on his wits and on the assortment of peculiar items his fairy godmother insisted that he take with him, each of which is just exactly what’s required to nullify one of the obstacles. And the story of each obstacle is told with lots of parallel words, so that the structure is entirely obvious.

So far, so good. Elmer’s not really a prince, of course…but the real problem is that there’s no fairy godmother, and so the assortment of peculiar items just lies there and looks peculiar. Elmer sets out with:

• A lot of chewing gum. (OK, I’ll buy that.)
• A bunch of pink lollipops. (Ditto. But why pink?)
• A tooth brush and tooth paste. (Well, maybe. It was 1948, and despite running away from home I suppose Elmer was well brought up. I doubt my boys would think to bring a tooth brush, though.)
• A comb and a brush. (No. I really don’t think so.)
• Seven hair ribbons. (Huh? Now, wait right there!)

There were a few other items, but I’ll stop with the hair ribbons. If Elmer’s fairy godmother had insisted on the hair ribbons, I’d buy it. If Elmer had reflected that he might run into savages who would be pacified by gifts of beads and hair ribbons, I’d credit him with foresight. But you just can’t tell me that a young American boy, now or in 1948, is going to run away from home and be sure to bring along a supply of hair ribbons!.

He doesn’t even chew any of the gum or enjoy any of the lollipops himself.

If the author packed up Elmer’s backpack and then amused herself coming up with ways to make use of the various items, I have to wonder how many boys she knew. If, as I suspect, she went back and filled up the backpack with the items she had Elmer make use of, I still wonder how many boys she knew.

I read this book to the kids at bedtime over three nights. I’d been reading them P.G. Wodehouse, and our youngest was bored with it; she’d taken to wandering off. Jane thought that if I read something more age-appropriate that Mary would stay and listen. She did, (though occasionally under duress) and the older kids, as I noted above, enjoyed it thoroughly. Me, I liked the bit with the crocodiles.

But in general, neither Jane nor I will be adding this one to our list of favorite books. It’s missing a fairy godmother.

Update: Aha! It’s as I thought. Seven daughters.

Alcatraz Smedry is the hero of a pair of truly delightful books my boys got for Christmas: Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians, and Alcatraz Versus The Scrivener’s Bones, both by Brandon Sanderson. At least, the spine of the books say that they are by Brandon Sanderson; the narrator, Alcatraz Smedry himself, claims that he is the real author; these books are autobiographical, but were published as fantasy novels to get them past the Evil Librarian Conspiracy. The attribution to Sanderson is just a blind.

You see, we live in a world that is run completely by and for the Librarians. They control what we read, and consequently what we know. And they like it that way.

Did I say completely? I misspoke. In addition to the continents you’re familiar with, all of which are under the Librarians, there are also several other continents collectively known as the Free Kingdoms. The Free Kingdomers refer to our countries collectively as the Hushlands. The Librarians have been trying to take over the Free Kingdoms for centuries, and the odds have tilted in their honor. Alcatraz, a thirteen-year-old raised in the United States, will be key to the Free Kingdom’s salvation. He’s a real hero.

Or is he? According to Alcatraz the narrator, he’s not really a hero; in fact, he’s writing his autobiography to tell people the truth about himself, so they’ll stop treating him like one.

Or is he? It’s hard to tell, as Alcatraz enjoys messing with the reader. (Do not turn to the last page to see how the book comes out. You’ve been warned.)

I read these books aloud to the family at bedtime over the last month; and frankly, they are some of the funniest books I’ve read in ages. Everyone, from Jane and I on down, enjoyed them thoroughly, and every evening the kids (and Jane) were clamoring for more. When the third book in the series comes out in October I’d be in line to buy it even if I had no kids to read it too.

Highly recommended.

Jane’s planning on doing some more of these reviews, so I’ve added her to the blog as an author. You’ll have to start looking at the by-line to see who’s writing. — Will

We are now on our third beginning reader so I have been developing very strong opinions on books for beginning readers. Many of these books are terrible with poor grammar, bad pictures, and no plot. A young child would do better to practice reading the labels in the grocery store. Every once in a while an author rises above the limited vocabulary to produce a treasure, think Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. Mo Willems started out as a writer and animator on Sesame Street and it shows. This story centers on Piggie, who wants to fly. Her friend Gerald, an elephant is sure that pigs can’t fly. Says Gerald, “You need Help.” Answers Piggie, “Thank You. I do need help!” And she goes and finds some. Great cartoon-style drawings accent the story of a piggie trying to fly. It is a book that is fun to read aloud in interesting voices. Everyone in the house has taken a turn performing the book for everyone else in the house. Highly recommended.