The Dragonsitter

The Dragonsitter #1

by Josh Lacey

'Dear Uncle Morton. You'd better get on a plane right now and come back here. Your dragon has eaten Jemima.'

It had sounded so easy: Edward was going to look after Uncle Morton's unusual pet for a week while he went on holiday. But soon the fridge is empty, the curtains are blazing, and the postman is fleeing down the garden path.

'Short, sharp and funny' - Telegraph

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Dragons, Humor, Chapter Books, Juvenile, 2nd Grade

64 pages, Paperback

First published May 3, 2012

About the author

Josh Lacey is a British writer born and raised in London. Josh worked as a journalist, a teacher and a screenwriter before writing his first book, A Dog Called Grk. He has written several other children’s books including The Dragonsitter, Island of Thieves, and The Pet Potato. He also wrote the adult book God is Brazilian, a biography of Charles Miller. He also writes under the name Joshua Doder.

Reviews

[Ro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the narrative of emails back and forth.

[Suso]

I read this aloud to the family last night. That dragon really reminds me of my oldest (who loves dragons - coincidence? I think not.). We all enjoyed it. The story was clever and the illustrations were fabulous. They made the story.

[Mandy Robek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down, the simple humor just kept making me smile. I even read it while pumping gas.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting this to be pretty bad. Thankfully, it far surpassed my expectations - and it was genuinely funny!

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic Plot: While he is on vacation, Uncle Morton leaves his pet dragon with his nephew Eddie, but forgets to leave instructions.

This was a rather clever, little book. It's written as an epistolary, mostly as emails from Eddie to his unresponsive uncle. The mom's responses to the dragon antics, seen through Eddie's eyes, were really funny to me.

This series looks like a good transition from picture books to chapter books. There are lots of pictures, plenty of breaks because of the short emails, a good sense of humor, and language that wasn't too difficult.

Solid. I plan to try the next one with my son and see if I can get him to do a reread.

[Kiersten · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It's a super good book and it really is super silly- and that's a good thing!" - Peggy, 6yo

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eddie finds himself in a difficult situation when his uncle drops off his dragon and then falls out of communication for several days, leaving Eddie and his family to figure out how to care for its unpredictable needs.

Though this book looks pretty long at first glance, many of the pages at the end are taken up with an excerpt from the next title in the series, so it is actually pretty short. Told entirely in emails, the story basically consists of Eddie’s first-person narration of various altercations between the dragon and members of the family, especially Eddie’s mom. The vocabulary is very straightforward, but the author gets a lot of mileage out of very simple words, using them in clever ways to describe the full impact of this dragon’s displeasure on Eddie and his family. (Especially memorable are the first two lines of the book: “You’d better get on a plane right now and come back here. Your dragon has eaten Jemima.”)

The illustrations are a key part of this story’s humor, as they portray the outrageous doings of the dragon, as shown in the photos Eddie attaches to the emails he sends to his uncle. Eddie’s tone in the email messages remains mostly calm and deadpan, so the visual representations of what the dragon is doing to his home make the whole experience seem especially funny. I also love the way the artist portrays both Eddie and his uncle from the back as they sit at their respective desks and type on their computers. It’s a neat visual way to bring the reader into the world of the story.

This story is fast-paced and laugh-out-loud funny, and it involves a creature that kids love to read about, and about which there are never enough books. The cover is appealing, the email-based format is pretty rare for a beginning chapter book, and the overall formatting of the book is nearly perfect for the target age range.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute first chapter book told in emails about a boy who watches his uncle's dragon while he's out of town. Chaos ensues, of course.

My main complaint is that the book is so short--only 54 pages. That wouldn't be bad by itself, but the hardcover copy I had included another 30 pages of preview material for another book, ads for other book series, and extra emails from Uncle Morton. I don't mind having a short book (it's a big sell for reluctant readers) but it seems off that so much of the book is that bonus stuff.

[Just_me · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set out in a sequence of emails this is a little fun book about a boy who is looking after his uncles dragon. My 9 year old read it aloud to me in about 15 minutes - she loved it, found it very funny and would give it 5 out of 5. I'd give it a three so or compromise we've given it a 4 start review as a children's book.

With thanks to the publisher and Toppsta for sending a copy to read and review.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book so very funny! I read it as though I was reading to myself, with all the curious inflections of voice, and my daughter loved it! She had read it already and wanted me to now read it with her.

I love that we obviously have the same sense of humor!

I can't wait to read this again with the next in line. Knowing that it takes place in England, I will be practicing my accent!

[Hilda Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and funny story about an unusual uncle who travels around the world. He leaves behind a dragon with his nephew. The dragon causes mayhem. the story is told through emails that Eduardo sends to his Uncle Miguel.

[Lance · Rating 2 out of 5]

"You could have warned us about the poo. Mum says even puppies are trained to go to the loo outside."

This was a short cheerful childrens' book. It was light and friendly, telling the story of a brother and sister tasked with looking after their uncle's pet dragon in suburbia with very little prior instruction. "The dragon is lying on the sofa. I told him he should be ashamed of himself but he doesn't look ashamed at all." I enjoyed the Chinese/Mongolian inspiration for the dragon illustration and the family's neat hair and glasses made them appear very normal and relatable.
However, the dragon's mischief was fairly unimaginative. "Mum said she wished that dragon was still here." Eating too much chocolate, ruining the curtain, and poking on the carpet could have been perpetrated by a large dog. I felt that the potential for realm dragon carnage was not reasiled, overall the story lacked magic. It wasn't afraid to have a small girl's rabbit devoured, but fell short of adding the enthralling mysticism I expect from the iconic dragon.
Will the sequels rectify this?

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious! My favorite line, "Have you tried chocolate?". A dragon is dropped off by a traveling uncle, without any instructions! Dragons turn out to be pretty fussy and messy and hard to care for. Finally, uncle answers the frantic emails and things get back on track. I'm excited to have a new (to me) series for my beginning chapter readers. It's short and has graphics to break up the text. I think my students will find it humorous like I did!

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edward and his family are dragonsitting while Uncle Morty is on vacation. Unfortunately, the dragon is very poorly behaved, eating all the food, lighting random things on fire, and pooping on the floor.

All of this is communicated in a series of frantically escalating emails, until Edward finally gets a most surprising answer.

Funny and would make a good readaloud, I think.
Very short. Periodic illustrations that show the dragons destruction. Would recommend.

[Nicola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Miss 6 thought the book was okay. She liked the pictures but didn't find the story interesting enough for us to continue with the series.

Miss 6 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

[Joe Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a teaching tool, this book is really good. It opens itself up to different teaching inputs.

The email format is engaging, and keeps the reader interested. It also teaches kids how to write them. It also begs the question: How would I take care of a dragon?

The illustrations are lovely, and it brakes the 4th wall and really promotes positive conversation from students.

It is funny, and engaging. I really liked it. My students will love it

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

First chapter book, larger print, space between lines, lots of pictures. This funny, quirky story is written entirely in letters. A boy writes to his uncle about the dragon he has been left to babysit, and who is getting crankier and more destructive by the day. What should he do about him? How can he control him?

Great pick for reluctant readers.

[Fahasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

On Halloween the night is full of strange creatures: witches, vampires, ghosts – and dragons.

In their seventh adventure Eddie and Emily take their uncle's pet dragons trick or treating. But the dragons have quite the sweet tooth, and it's not long before things go ghoulishly wrong...
https://www.fahasa.com/

[NWH · Rating 5 out of 5]

What could possibly go wrong when pet sitting for you uncle? Well, for starters, he doesn't have a regular pet && the pet certainly isn't house trained... Hilarious.

NoveList Plus Info:
Genre: Early chapter books, fantasy fiction
Tone: Funny
Subjects: Disasters (minor), dragons, email, petsitting, uncles

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read aloud with my 6yo son. I loved the email format. It had humor that made both of us laugh. I really felt for the mom as they all dealt with the dragon and I loved the boys concern for her haha. I loved the increase of panic in the emails and loved the chocolate solution. The pictures really added to the story. We both would love to continue the series.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best thing about this book is the lack of chapters. Everything is conveyed through emails which allows the children to naturally stop and start at easily obtainable points, no rushing to get to the end of a chapter. Great for struggling readers up to around 8 or 9.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book in the Dragon sitter series with a half baked out of his mind uncle leaving his dragon with is nephew and hijinks ensue. Strange, weird and OTT but still enough fun to be had with it, quite brief.

[Ernesta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up to finish my reading challenge with ease and to reload my brain a little from all the complicated things. And the book did it pefectly. I'd say it's more adorable than funny, but either way it has its charm.

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly book with the dragon destroying everything in sight and Eddie trying to get in touch with his Uncle Morton via email, but entertaining with the mystery of why Uncle Morton isn’t answering his emails and what can Eddie do to calm down the dragon. Would read other books in this series.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty great. A boy and his mother and sister are babysitting his uncle's dragon, but a lot of things are going wrong. Told through emails the boy is sending his uncle, this was unique and fun.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great series for middle readers. Told as a series of emails, this book introduces Eddie and his Uncle Morton's dragon.

[Whole And · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dragons, emails, uncles and cheese...all in the adventures of dragon sitting.

We thoroughly enjoyed this humorous tale.

[Kristine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Silly. Fun, but fluff.

[Ms. Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was much cuter than I expected. Funny too!

[Meggan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars for me but Sage really loved it. She read it aloud to me. She is currently reading the next in the series