My Father's Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannet and Illustrations by Ruth Chrisman Gannet - Fantasy

I haven’t met a child yet that does not like to fantasize and travel to distant lands of magic and talking animals by vehicle of a book. Elmer Elevator is no different of a child, and together with him and his friend the cat, Elmer decides to run away from home for awhile (only long enough to make his parents miss him and appreciate him more) to help rescue a baby dragon that is being held prisoner on Wild Island, by the ill-tempered wild beasts that live there. Through a series of hilarious events that involve Elmer meeting and outsmarting the wild beasts, Elmer is able to save the dragon (who later in the series we learn is named Boris) and fly away from Wild Island forever.

I find Elmer a very interesting character who embodies the thought of many a little boy that I know. He takes with him on his journey to Wild Island apples and peanut butter sandwiches, along with gum, lollipops, rubber bands, ribbons, combs, and a backpack (all suggested as tools of necessity by the cat that Elmer has befriended and learns about the baby dragon from). Elmer has eaten the sandwiches and apples by the time he lands in Tangerina (another Island) and is forced throughout the rest of the book, and the one that follows, to eat only tangerines. Still, he is happy with this and seldom complains. I’m not sure that I would love to eat nothing buy tangerines for days on end!

Elmer and his cat friend must obviously think alike, as well, because he manages to use all the odd things that he brought with him on his journey, to save both himself and the baby dragon. Elmer is a very selfless character, always thinking of someone else’s needs before his own. Sure, he wants to ride on a dragon, but he really goes to Wild Island to rescue the dragon from the wild beasts. He is also a very brave little boy, traveling all that way on his own and braving the walk across the stony path (and sleeping whale) to get to the island that even the fishermen at Tangerina Island refuse to go to. He is a smart little boy, also, understanding each wild beast’s inner most weakness and desire and playing that to his benefit. In just a few pages, Elmer’s character has been developed so much so that you wonder if he is really a young boy or an experienced adventurer well acquainted with the wild beasts and set backs of this world. He seems to be able to solve all problems with ease and without getting worried. In fact he manages to stay calm throughout the entire book, even when threatened to be eaten time and time again by various different wild beasts.

I think that my favorite wild beasts were the tigers who loved to chew gum and the alligators who loved to suck on lollipops. The wild beasts were given human qualities and characteristics that the reader could even imagine in their minds certain people that they may know that would have some of their disdainful qualities. However, Elmer plunges forward, never being stopped, and proves that goodness can and will prevail and that friendship between a baby dragon and a boy is well worth fighting for.