Elmer and the Dragon

My Father's Dragon #2

by Ruth Stiles Gannett

In this sequel to My Father's Dragon . Elmer and Boris's island hopping adventures continue.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Dragons, Chapter Books, Adventure, Middle Grade

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 1950

About the author

Ruth Stiles Gannett wrote My Father's Dragon just a few years after her graduation from Vassar College in 1944.

Reviews

[Rod Brown]

A boring boy and his boring dragon have a boring adventure on a boring island with boring canaries searching for boring treasure.

Boring.

[Book2Dragon]

Another delightful book in the trilogy of Elmer and the Dragon he (the narrator's father) rescues. One thing I like about the book series is the author never says "he ate tangerines," he says he ate 15 tangerines.. then later "he ate 12 tangerines." A number is given for the things he packs, when he uses them, occasionally how many are left. This makes the book a good teaching tool for math, or for a child learning numbers.
The story continues to be delightful, especially the encounter with the canaries and the plague, "dying of curiosity," that Elmer and the dragon help with. As in "My Father's Dragon," the first of the series, a wonderful map is at the beginning of the book and the illustrations are super fabulous.

[J. Boo]

Elmer and his baby dragon, flying back home, are caught by a storm and land on an island inhabited by canaries. Not as exciting as the first book, but still quite charming, with a few very funny bits. DS5/DD3 enjoyed it, too. 3.4/5

Apr 2020 - This time through, DD#1 (age 7) did the voices of Elmer and the Dragon (under protest; she preferred not to have to do any of the work), while I took care of the rest. DS#2 (age 4) liked it quite a bit.

[Drew Graham]

I can't quite remember if I read this one as a child too, but I'm pretty sure I did. If I did, I could remember absolutely nothing about it by now, so it was basically like reading it for the first time. This book picks up directly after the last page of the previous book, and continues the adventures of Elmer Elevator and the baby dragon. After Elmer saves his friend from the animals of Wild Island, they journey to take Elmer home, but become waylaid by a fierce storm at sea. When the storm calms, Elmer and the dragon find themselves on the shores of Feather Island, inhabited entirely by canaries rules by King Can XI, who is slowly but surely dying of curiosity (as did all his predecessors). Elmer, using considerably less resources, though just as much ingenuity, is able to help them unearth the mystery that's besetting them so.

It was really fun to read the continuing adventures of these great characters, but something about this story didn't quite stand out to me as much. I loved the pattern of the first one and how each little thing meant something, and this story just seemed a little more random. I did like the canaries (though, because of the first book, I expected them to stick around for a chapter or two at most), and I liked how there seemed to be some real danger at the beginning. When I realized that the narrator was no longer Elmer's son telling his father's adventures (Elmer is just Elmer now) I was a little surprised too, so maybe that's why I thought this one wasn't quite as good as the first. The anecdotal tone of the first one really lent itself to the overall charm. But it was still a delight to read, and the illustrations were still really fun. I don't know exactly how I feel about Elmer arriving home after several days away and not having to explain his whereabouts to his clueless parents, but it didn't bother me that much. It was just as quick to read as the previous book, and I still rather liked it.

I did enjoy this great sequel to My Father's Dragon, but it didn't charm me quite as much as the first book in the series did.

[Carmen]

Elmer and his baby dragon head for home. Can they make it? No, they have to make a pit stop on Feather Island, the island that all lost canaries go. Only, there's a problem on the island - everyone has a deadly disease. They are dying of curiosity!

Here's my favorite part:

"Gold! I knew it! Just think of it, Queen. Six bags of gold!" trilled the King.
"What will you do with them, King dear?" asked the Queen.
"I won't do anything with them. I'll just have them and be rich."

Also, Elmer's mom redeems herself a little after her atrocious behavior in the first book.

[Niharikaa]

It was very fictional, he could talk to animals, or the animals could speak english.It was very boring.

[josie march]

my students loved the idea of dying of curiosity

[Holly Glem]

Not quite as good as the first but still cute.

These books are good read aloud, the kids are entertained and this one had the bonus of having a secret that we had to find out!

I can tell it’s old, and I can appreciate that it’s old. If someone wrote I might be tempted to say this book is boring! But I feel like these are the kind of children’s books that have paved the way. I’m happy to acknowledge the contribution and also recognize that my children continue to be entertained by the stories.

We’ve also had fun talking about old words that we don’t use very much anymore, and what we use instead, like

knapsack -> backpack
queer -> strange
Icebox -> fridge
cap -> hat

[Luisa Knight]

Another wonderfully engaging adventure with Elmer and his friend dragon! Includes all of the delightful silliness and wit that you appreciated in the first book.

Ages: 7 - 12

Cleanliness: Gosh, Gee and the like are used throughout the book.

**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it!

Visit my website!

[Mariah Delposen]

Enjoyed book 2 in this adventure series! My kids are very engaged with these.

[Spens]

Finally read this little book after so many years since reading the first! A funny little adventure picking up right after the ending of the previous book.

[Kaitlynn Yoder]

A super fun and whimsical read, especially with kids.

[Mandi]

My 6 year old loved this!!

Read aloud

[Elsa K]

A great sequel. My boys 7, 4.5 and 2.5 loved this series, it was just right for the 3 of them.

[Lisa]

Not quite as funny or interesting as the first book in the series, but still not bad.

[Riho Uto]

-Random House
-Time:10/17=30min 10/18=31min 10/20=12min
-7words summary:Elmer-dragon-help-King-treasures-present-back
-Discussion question:
1.Animals can speak in this book. What kind of animals do you want to talk?
I want to talk with horses. I like horses. They are cool! I want to ask how horses feel about be ridden by people.
2.In the end, Elmer gave presents to his parents. Have you ever given some gifts to your parents?
Yes,however, when I was young. I don't know what presents my parents want. I will try give something next my parents' birthday.


It is interesing that Elmer can speak all animals. Moreover, It is funny that dragon can speak like a human.I cannot imagine how dragons cry. I know the Elmer series have one more book. I will read it.

[Kelsey]

3.5

[Monica]

I could not tell you what happens in this book, it was so boring. The magic of the first is non existent here. 3 stars for being a very effective children’s sedative.

[Jordan Taylor]

"Elmer and the Dragon" is the sequel to the excellent children's classic My Father's Dragon. The story begins right where its prequel left off, with Elmer riding his new friend the baby dragon on a journey home. However, after a storm, the duo ends up on an island plagued with curiosity.
The story is simplistically lovely, with dragons that eat lollipops, a special island for escaped canaries, and even buried treasure. There are also quite a few hilarious moments. A favorite was when the king was asked what he would do with some bags of gold he has found. He replies, "I won't do anything with them. I'll just have them and be rich."
I just love the whimsical charm of these books, and the sparse illustrations every couple of pages.

[Amy Meyers]

A fun sequel. My youngest (7) read it in one day! He’s so happy. Funny—the canaries on an island are literally dying of curiosity, so that’s a conflict Elmer and the dragon deal with. Again, docked a star because his relationship with his parents is weirdly casual and deceptive. What parents would be like “Oh, yay! You’re back home after being missing for two weeks. That’s great.” And leave it at that.

[Isabelle Duchaine]

"It was good! My favourite character was the dragon because he flew him back home." - Hector, 4.5


Read out loud. IMO the weakest of the trilogy (usually the second in a series is so good!!), but that's probably because I don't love canaries. He really enjoyed it, especially digging up the treasure.

These books are wonderful to read out loud, especially because the chapters are not very long.

[Adele]

Talk about sophomore slump! This is basically an epilogue to My Father's Dragon padded out to book length. I know I read this at least once as a child and might have reread it as an adult before now, but it was completely unfamiliar to me as if I were reading it for the first time. It really is that forgettable.

[Kristin]

Although Elmer's resourcefulness wasn't as apparent to us in this book as it was in the first, my five year old son and I still enjoyed the adventures on Feather Island and how curiosity nearly killed the...canary.

[Robin Coral]

The story has great suspense for a 4 yo but I feel that women are portrayed poorly. I don’t recommend it for those sublet messages for young children... the rest of the story is great imagination! It’s just an old book with old values.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit)]

Elmer Elevator and the baby dragon escape from Wild Island and find themselves on Feather Island, where they meet the King and Queen of the canaries and help them solve the curse of curiosity!

Read aloud to my daughter.

[emily mikell]

This series is so cute and clever!


Favorite quotes:

"A nap in the middle of the ocean in the middle of a storm?"
"Why not? There's nothing else to do."

"I'll be even richer than the King because I'll keep my treasure where I can see it every day."

[Wynter]

I’m really enjoying reading this series to my 4 year old. He absolutely loves the sweet adventures of Elmer. We like to make a list at the beginning of the book and check off things he uses as he goes. Like the first book there’s also some new vocabulary to talk about.

[Claire King]

Although not the best sequel we’ve read, Ry and D were “dying with curiosity” just like the canaries in the story to find out the King’s secret and whether or not Elmer and the dragon would make it home.

[Roshawn Heyward]

it was a good book elmem got she want it and the dragon was in a spell but got better

[Amy]

Not as funny as the first book, but still fun.