Max's Dragon

by Kate Banks

Max is looking for words that rhyme. His dragon is in his wagon – or was, for now its tail has left a trail, which Max follows. He finds an umbrella on the ground― "Found, ground," he says, while his older brothers mock him for believing in dragons and sitting under an umbrella when it isn't even raining. But Max believes in possibilities―and when he can show his brothers not only a dragon in the stormy clouds but also a dinosaur, they begin to come round. When Max demonstrates the power of his rhyming words to tame the dinosaur and the dragon and make the rain come, he wins them over completely. With amusing wordplay and beguiling illustrations, Kate Banks and Boris Kulikov celebrate language and imagination in a collaboration that is bound to be oodles of fun for everyone. This title has Common Core connections.

Genres: Picture Books, Dragons, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy, Friendship, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 18, 2008

About the author

Kate Banks has written many books for children, among them Max’s Words, And If the Moon Could Talk, winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and The Night Worker, winner of the Charlotte Zolotow Award. She grew up in Maine, where she and her two sisters and brother spent a lot of time outdoors, and where Banks developed an early love of reading. “I especially liked picture books,” she says, “and the way in which words and illustrations could create a whole new world in which sometimes real and other times magical and unexpected things could happen.” Banks attended Wellesley College and received her masters in history at Columbia University. She lived in Rome for eight years but now lives in the South of France with her husband and two sons, Peter Anton and Maximilian.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/katebanks

Reviews

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a really silly children's book about children thinking they can affect the weather by rhyming.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy, with a large imagination, sees evidence of a dragon friend everywhere he looks. I love books that celebrate a child's imagination. This one was quite good and clever.

[Deanna Sutter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only reason it gets two stars is because it has a couple of dragons in it. In this house that's pretty "cool." I thought this book was very poorly written. I didn't "get" it. If I was eight I would say this book was "dumb."

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute and silly, with rhyming and biiiig imaginations. great book for littles.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never underestimate the power of rhyming words. Or imagination.

This book is full of intellectual adventures, imaginative questioning -- and, most of all, celebrating the sound of words. For instance:

"My dragon's sneeze makes quite a breeze," he said.
"My dragon's roar has made it pour," said Max.

Kate Banks and artist Boris Kulikov have done it again: Made it fun to think and learn and, all the while, behold the most glorious pictures.

FIVE STARS of deep respect!

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Max and his brothers are outside for the day. His brothers are playing crochet and max is playing with his dragon. Will the brothers join in? Is his dragon real? length is one on one or preschool

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Max's Castle better, but this story was fun, too. It emphasizes rhyming words without being too Dr. Seuss-y.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t really enjoy this story, but I did appreciate the rhyming words, the creative imaginations of the characters, and the dragon cloud. I think that this series teaches good learning concepts. I don’t like the illustrations in this series.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Banks Vault #2
Max #2
Second book in the Max series sees a more average read and one that just didn't really do it for me - the concept of this idea is good, the execution is not hitting me where I thought it would.
Maybe book 3?

[Stephanie Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun story about boys playing croquet and having fun with make believe. Great for teaching/reinforcing rhymes.

[Jolayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful story infused with rhyming words.

[Maya]

Most children would do well with a glossary at the front of the book before the story starts for the croquet terms.

[Max Novoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the illustrations

[Rick Christiansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't really amount to much. Never really knew what it wanted to be

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the imaginative theme of the book, but it fell just a bit flat.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Max and his brothers are enjoying the outdoors. Max's quest is to find rhyming words, and in so doing he discovers a dragon in the clouds. Imagination takes over and the dragon becomes a problem that only a rhyme will solve. Fabulous illustrations.

[Natalie Rudolph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Max’s Dragon (2008) Written by Kate Banks and Illustrated by Boris Kulikov

This picture book tells the story of Max and his brothers, Karl and Benjamin, who are playing outside. Max is looking for words that rhyme when he swears that he is talking to the dragon in his wagon. While Max and his brothers follow the dragon, Max details what is happening through rhymes. Everything is well until Max says, “My dragon’s roar has made it pour,” signifying that the dragon is at fault for the unwanted rain. Max is able to get it to stop raining through saying a rhyme, and the boys continue playing outside.
• This picture book is done with bleed effect. The pictures appear to go off the pages, which makes the outdoor setting a lot of the focus. The pictures are done in bright colors, showing the playfulness and happiness of the boys as they play outside. Once the storm brews, the colors become dark grey, setting the mood. The dragon’s scales are done in a very texturized manner, emphasizing the roughness of its scales.
• It is very unique that the majority of the story is written as narrative while some of the lines rhyme. Because not all of the story reads as a poem, this book is a great way to immerse reluctant rhyming readers into the poetry genre. The rhyming phrases read with a certain flow and beat that makes the phrases about the dinosaurs stick out to readers.
• The expressions on the boys’ faces are very detailed, emphasizing the boys’ many emotions throughout the book. Small details like Max’s hat blowing away, the boy’s holding their ears to show that they are listening intently, and the boys looking up emphasize what the text states. Without these illustrations, the writing would not have as much of an effect. The pictures and text work together very nicely.
I would definitely recommend this book. I thought that the inclusion of rhyme and narrative work very effectively; it is a great way to get kids to practice rhyming!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

In search of words that rhyme, the irrepressible Max [of Max's Words fame] has never met a cloud he didn't like or a simple task that he couldn't make more interesting and less mundane. As he follows the trail of his dragon, his two siblings eventually join him after at first making fun of him. To get rid of the dinosaur that seems to be chasing the dragon through the sky, Max suggests that they make rhymes. Even the sound of thunder rumbling is laid at the feet of the dragon, now snoring. The text is delightful as are those marvelous illustrations, filled with color and playing with perspective so that some scenes show the brothers sprawled across two pages and others follow the dragon's path. Ideal for sharing with those who love words or for fostering a love for words in youngsters, this one is a fine read aloud title.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best for kids ages 4 and up.
Early Literacy Skills: Print Motivation, Vocabulary, Phonological Awareness, Narrative Skills

From cover:
Max is on a quest. He is looking for words that rhyme. His clever couplets take him through a croquet game, into a storm, and onto the trail of a playful dragon. But then the dragon begins to threaten the fun, and there is but one thing to do: Make another rhyme.

Cute and funny, kids will love to read about Max and his dragon while learning about words that rhyme.

[Brittany Rockhill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Max’s Dragon is a book full of rhyming and witty phrases, but it never ceases to tell a beautiful story. The story involves imagination, creativity, and play. A lot of rhyming book used in schools are out of context rhymes that just match up with illustrations and have no plot. These books can be boring and dull, but this book follows a plot and involves characters that rhyme as part of their game. There is rich vocabulary and engaging illustrations. There is problem solving and good communication between the characters. This would be a quality book to include in the elementary classroom.

[Kelly Holmes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Caveat: I haven't read Max's Words, so I'm not sure how this book compares.

This text felt way too long when reading the book aloud to my daughter. Almost every line is a piece of dialog from one of three boy characters. Their lines are right after another, which makes it difficult to read them in different voices. And the fact that they're all boys around the same age would make that difficult anyway.

[eRin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is about Max on the hunt for rhymes. The rhymes are kind of fun and I can imagine that it would be fun to read aloud to a young child, but I really didn't care for it too much. The illustrations were just ok, and the story just didn't seem to flow for me--seemed that Banks was just looking for rhyming words with little attention paid to the actual storyline.

[Kristie Oke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book explores how one boy's imagination helps him to make friends with some other boys who started off making fun of him. The game played in the book helps readers hear certain rhymes and how to use the rhyming words. It also shows the patterns of the rhyming words while taking the boys on a short adventure with dragons and dinosaurs.

[Karin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't like this one as much, but the real judge is my son and he hasn't gotten it yet - I just bought it because I enjoyed the other two "Max" books so much!

Update: This one is just ok. My kids asked me to read it once or twice then pretty much lost interest. Stick to Max's Castle and Max's Words, they liked those much better.

[Brynja · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a dumb book. It's about a kid who sees an imaginary dragon in the sky and he's telling his brothers all about what he "sees" the dragon doing. The whole time he is rhyming, but it is just kind of a random thing that is thrown into the story and the rhymes seem forced. The pictures were not cute or fun either. The kids are weird looking. Nobody in our family liked this book.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

With SO many amazing rhyming books for kids (not to mention poetry, hello) why do we need a book that emphasizes the need to find rhyming words without actually being an engaging story?

As a read aloud it was unsatisfying because the rhyme comes and goes so there isn't a good rhythm. My daughter did not really like the illustration styles.

[Janae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what rating I would give this (honestly, I thought it was odd), but my 3 year old son LOVED it. It might be the first book that he requested we read again immediately upon finishing it. I think 95% of his admiration for this book is because there is a dinosaur and dragon in it. Well, sort of in it.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great literacy book. This little boy is so exciting about words and is always teaching his brothers something new. This book is specifically about rhyming words. After reading, students could go and write using rhyming words just like Max.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I thought this would be just about making words rhyme, but there is a great story too. I loved the creative word play and the resourceful imaginations of the three boys playing croquet (sometimes in the rain).

[Lari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be great to read to kids before any rhyming game. It would also be a fun one to read in conjunction with a mini field trip to have students look at clouds in the sky and write a story about their cloud pictures.