Great Choice for a Child Transitioning to Longer Chapter Books

I love parents. They want only the best for their children. One of my favorite requests as a bookseller went something like this: " My seven-year-old loves series like Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo but needs to be challenged a little more. Can you recommend a good book that still has pictures in it but with longer chapters that my child might like?" "Yes" I would reply happily, "I can."

My Father's Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannet, is the perfect book for a child transitioning to longer chapter books. In the bookstore I worked in, it was included in the section that catered to seven-to-twelve year olds, but it could certainly be read by an advanced six year old, and, like all good children's books, be read to younger children by their parents. Its simple and charming black-and-white drawings fulfill the need for illustrations, and, at the same time, give it a more grown-up feel.

The story line is perfect for all children with a keen sense of imagination, a lust for adventure, and the belief that there is order in the world. It centers around Elmer Elevator and a baby dragon he hears about that has been captured and is being held prisoner on Wild Island. Elmer, being a conciencious child, believes that this is wrong and devises a  creative and successful plan to rescue the dragon.

My Father's Dragon is the first in Ms. Gannett's three-book series. The parents who accepted my recommendation often returned for Elmer and the Dragon and The Dragons of Blueland, the other two books in the series respectively. All three have also been published as one volume in a fifty-year anniversary edition called Three Tales of My Father's Dragon. Whichever way you choose to introduce your children to these delightful tales--separately or in a single volume--they are sure to spark their imagination and gently nudge them into the wonderful world of  young-reader fiction.

http://www.deseretnews.com/top/469/2/My-Father7s-Dragon-by-Ruth-Gannett-Stiles-illustrated-by-Ruth-Chrisman-Gannett-The-50-best-books.html