The Library Dragon

The Library Dragon #1

by Carmen Agra Deedy, Michael P. White (Illustrator)

When Sunrise Elementary advertised for a thick-skinned librarian with a burning love of books, Miss Lotta Scales knew she was perfect for the job. Who could guard books better than a REAL dragon?

"She kept a fiery eye out to make sure no one removed any books from the shelves...
The very thought of sticky little fingers
touching
and
clutching,
pawing
and
clawing,
smearing
and
tearing
her precious books just made her hot under the collar."

The teachers, singed and scorched, formed a delegation. But not even sweet Miss Lemon could convince Miss Lotta Scales that "the library belonged to the children."

Fortunately, nearsighted Molly Brickmeyer stumbles into a copy of "Snuff the Magic Dragon" and reads the tale out loud. Her storytelling beckons the children back to the library and brings them face to face with the Library Dragon.

Can an open book temper the flames of the school's hot-headed librarian?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Dragons, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Books About Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1994

About the author

Carmen Agra Deedy is an internationally known author of children’s literature, a storyteller and radio contributor. Born in Havana, Cuba, she immigrated to the United States with her family in 1963 after the Cuban Revolution. Deedy grew up in Decatur, Georgia and currently lives in Atlanta and has three daughters.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

The school library hired a dragon as librarian and she was there to protect the books. She becomes possessive of the shiny books and she won’t let any of them be checked out or even have story time. She was afraid of them being messed up. The PTA, the principal and teachers are all defeated by the dragon. It’s a girl with glasses who can’t see well who melts the heart of the librarian. It’s a very cute story.

I fondly remember my elementary school librarian. She was a world traveler and she seemed so smart. I loved library time. She was no dragon, but she was no push-over either. She was pretty great though.

The nephew loved the dragon and he thought it was hilarious when she burnt the principal’s tie. He said he would love to see that. He gave this 5 stars. The niece loved the librarians new hairdo after she becomes a person. It is a work of art. She thought it was a nice story. She likes her library too. She gave this 3 stars.

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss Lotta Scales, an actual dragon, is the new school librarian . . . and she doesn't like ANYONE touching her books. The story didn't wow me, and I wasn't fond of the artwork by Michael P. White.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book gets on my nerves with its exhaustive, self-referential, "Ooh! Ooh! Look at me! I'm punny!" overuse of every fire pun in the history of humanity. However, my 6yo and almost 8yo did not seem to notice, or if they did, they did not care. Fine for them, but reading this book was highly annoying for me, the parent. So if the kids bring this home from the library, brace yourself. I'm just sayin' ...

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss Lotta Scales considered herself the ideal librarian. She had the thick skin and burning love of books that Sunrise Elementary school had requested. But with her fiery eye fixed on all the grubby little children, with their sticky fingers, and her zealous defense of "her" books, Miss Lotta was a real dragon. Nothing any of the teachers said could make her see that "the library belongs to the children," until the day young Molly Brinkmeyer wandered into her domain, and began reading Snuff the Magic Dragon aloud. Would the magic of story-hour be enough to bring dragon and children together?

Filled with Deedy's clever wordplay - Miss Lotta "gets hot under the collar," the children "warm up" to her - The Library Dragon is an engaging story that will introduce children to the concept of treating library books with care. Accompanied by Michael P. White's colorful illustrations, which add a whimsical note, this would make an excellent story-hour selection - perhaps at the library!

[Megan Franks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book begins with a want ad requesting a children's librarian--"a thick-skinned professional" with a "burning love for children." Turns out, Sunrise Elementary School has a real dragon of a librian--literally! Miss Lotta Scales believes her job is to guard the library--to protect the books from snotty noses and sticky fingers. No one is allowed to touch the books and storytime is abolished. Everyone fears Miss Lotta Scales (because they often end up singed...even the principal!). In the end, thanks to a student named Molly, Miss Lotty loses her scales, reinstates story time and and transforms into a kinder, gentler librarian. It's laugh-out-loud fun (especially for librarians).

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deedy is at her best writing books-to-read-aloud. This would be great to read as part of an introduction to a library for a group of kids, but it also amuses those with more experience, even those who've loaned out their own books. So much fun, and so many little jokes in the text and the illustrations, that it rewards close attention.

[Judi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for Media Specialists/ librarians to read aloud to students at the beginning of the year to teach about book care. I have done it many times - though not every year.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had seen this book at the library several times and finally took it out this week. Usually, I try to save all books dealing with dragons for Mike to read to Natalie, but since he usually only reads to her at bed time, I read this to her one afternoon. That was probably for the best because this book turned out to be more about libraries and books (my area) than dragons (Mike's area). What I liked about this book was all the funny puns. This book would be an excellent tool for teachers of all grades to use to teach about puns and word play. I also greatly enjoyed how the pictures, while not pretty, were clever and added to the word play. My favorite was that the little girl Brickmeyer had bricks on her dress. There was also a lot of text to read in the pictures, which would be great for younger readers. As far as the plot was concerned, it was alright. And there was a lesson of taking care of something, but not so much so that you can't enjoy it anymore.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun tale about a librarian who takes a run-down elementary school library and makes it new and nice, but the only problem is that the children are no longer allowed to actually touch and read the books. Oh yeah, she's a dragon, too.

This story reminds me of the Black Lagoon series by Mike Thaler and Jared Lee. The librarian is mean and has lots of ways of protecting her books from the sticky fingers, most of which include fire.

The word play is amusing and the illustrations are fun, if slightly creepy. We enjoyed reading this story together and our girls loved the librarian's transformation at the end.

[Nada · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about Ms. Lotta Scales, the librarian at Sunrise Elementary School who loves to keep the library books a little too nice and clean by not allowing any of the students to remove or read any of the books from the bookshelves. What caught my eye right away was the consistent humor in the illustrations of the book and how well the author worked with wordplay. This book can definitely be used by teachers in all grade levels in teaching vocabulary and homonyms. I really enjoyed the illustrators modernization in the pictures and the variations in simplicity and complexity. The consistent labels and signs in the pictures were also a nice touch that are rare to see in fictional picture books. This book can be enjoyed by children of all ages and can also be a reminder of how important books are and how well we should be treating them.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss Lotta Scales loves the books in the library of Sunrise Elementary School, but maybe she loves them a little too much. The librarian is overprotective of the books from which she is responsible, and makes sure they stay in pristine condition. This means the books don't get used by the children. Despite a visit from a teacher delegation asking her to be more lenient, things remain the same. But when Molly Brickmeyer wanders into the library and begins reading, she melts the heart of the school's dragon of a librarian. The airbrushed illustrations show the dragon's personality and the children's faces in wonderful fashion. The story itself is funny although it hides some truth about the tendency some of us to be reluctant to let our precious books get out of our sight.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts of the book were really great. But it didn't have a really great feel overall. Maybe it is because today's kids don't call strict teachers "dragons" anymore, so the twist here was lost on my kids. Maybe it is because we've never run into someone who is too strict with their books, so taking it to an extreme was only weird, not funny or clever. There were a lot of places where the kids and I were confused as to the character's motivations. For example, my preschooler kept saying, "But WHY did the teachers do ..." and I didn't really know how to answer.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute use of language in an attempt to relate to dragons (e.g., "The principal fumed. The teachers were incensed. Worst of all, the children had missed reading and storytime for weeks and their grades were going up in smoke.").

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic read-aloud if you really get into it. I always sniffed the book when she talks about the books being all smelly. Fourth-graders seemed to giggle the most.

[Kary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to most of my classes for orientation - I think it will be my go-to in the years to come.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have loved to have had this book in our school library. It’s very clever and full of hilarious puns. The ending is transformational!

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Horn Book (March, 1995)

When a tyrannical, fire-breathing dragon named Miss Lotta Scales becomes the new school librarian, story hour ceases, and the children are forbidden to touch the books. Eventually, a small child saves the day. The farcical text and colorful, clean-edged artwork are loaded with tedious dragon humor.



Kirkus Reviews (1994)

Miss Lotta Scales, the new librarian at Sunrise Elementary, is a real dragon, literally and figuratively. She won't lend out books, won't even let the children touch them for that matter. The very thought of their sticky fingers desecrating her books makes her flare. She even has the gall to incinerate books that defame dragons. Not surprisingly, the kids come to hate library day. Then Molly Brickmeyer rolls into the library in search of her glasses. Nearsighted to a fault, Molly bumps into a bookshelf, a book pops into her lap, and she commences to read aloud. Rumors of a storytime -- a practice forbidden by Miss Scales -- spread through the school like prairie fire. Even Miss Scales is mesmerized by Molly's reading, transformed even, into sweet Miss Lotty, librarian and storyteller. Deedy (Agatha's Feather Bed, 1991) has a chance to handle some issues both large and small, from censorship to book burning to terminal crotchetiness. Unfortunately, they are left here to dangle without being faced four-square. Entertaining nevertheless, with snappy confections from newcomer White.



Publishers Weekly (November 14, 1994)

When an elementary school advertises for a "thick-skinned professional" who is "on fire with enthusiasm," it gets just that-and then some. A bespectacled, dress-wearing dragon, Miss Lotta Scales replaces all the books with spanking clean ones, and refuses to let the students ("with their gooey fingers and snotty noses") touch them. The kids' grades are "going up in smoke," but neither the principal nor the teachers can convince the headstrong dragon to let the pupils near the stacks until one myopic girl accidentally wanders into the library and begins to read a story (``Snuff the Magic Dragon'') aloud. The tale manages to soften the librarian's scaly skin-figuratively and literally. Deedy (Agatha's Feather Bed) is an accomplished storyteller, and kids will likely enjoy her frequent puns and wordplay. White heads off imminent cutesiness with droll, stylized illustrations, filled with vibrant color and lots of comical details. Ages 6-10. (Oct.)



School Library Journal (December 1994)

K-Gr 2-Sunrise Elementary School's new librarian is Miss Lotta Scales, a fire-breathing dragon who fiercely guards her new books. When a nearsighted child enters the unused facility and begins reading aloud, other children wander in, and Miss Scales realizes that kids don't necessarily damage books. She then becomes Miss Lotty, and the kids ``warm up'' to her. The text is filled with dragon-related puns, as are the colorful, slightly off-center illustrations of children in armor and forbidding yellow ``dragon line'' tape draped across the stacks of books. Youngsters will enjoy the funny touches and librarians may feel the good-humored tap of a reminder that books are for kids. The final statement, that ``...every librarian needs to be a little bit of a dragon-or else, who would guard the books?'' is not well worded, but it's not worth getting hot under the collar about.-Christine A. Moesch, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, NY

[Mialynn Wessels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It was definitely a lot longer than the other two children books I read, it had paragraphs unlike the other ones where they had a sentence on a page. The cover if the book was cute but I felt like the pirate looking map had nothing to do with the story. This book definitely gave a good message to kids and I can see myself reading this to my future students.

This book was about a librarian who was a dragon and also a clean freak. She did not allow other students in the library because she was scared of them making a mess. The kids were deprived of books and definitely wanted to read. Later on in the book we find a child going into the library and she starts reading out loud which draws more kids to her to listen. This causes the dragon to start reading the book to the children and her scales fall off. The kids are now happy that they are able to read and use the library.

The illustrations are very basic and cute. I feel like everything was colorful and fun with a lot of small detail. Their were people running away, running around, having conversation, and that all helps us relate to the story much more. The font of the book was very thin and small, I wish it was more bold just because their is so much color in the illustrations. I also like how the whole book was colored, their was barely any white in the pages.

I really do like this book, I did get a little annoyed with how many "fire" and "dragon" puns were being made but I'm sure children find that entertaining. I gave it a 4 out of 5 because I did not like how fearful the dragon was to the teachers and to students. She walked all over her co-workers and no one did anything about it. Even though the kids were able to read by the end she was still rude to the kid on her lap and will most likely still be rude to her other peers.

[Leslie Medrano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Fantasy
Format: Children's picture book
Award: Flicker Tale Children's Book Award

Summary: At Sunrise Elementary, Miss Lotta Scales, loves book so much she does not want children tearing up the pages or putting their dirty fingers on them. She would huff fire or blow out fire whenever she got upset with another teacher or a student. The students and teachers became afraid of her that they dreaded coming to the library and soon there was no library time for the students. One day a brave little girl, Molly Brickmeyer, began to read a book while Miss Lotta Scales slept. While Molly read, Miss Scales woke up very angry, but as soon as she saw Molly reading she checked the book for stains and smudges. Then finished off reading the book to the students. The students were once again allowed in the library and loved Library day.

Critique: I liked this book because at the end it surprises you with a plot twist. The dragon transforms into a human being, a librarian. She realized that children liked books because they liked to read not just to destroy the books. I think as teachers, sometimes we become cold towards the students and forget that they are only kids and they want to learn. This teacher learned her lesson that not all students want to destroy books, but actually read them for enjoyment.

Teaching prompt: One question that you can ask students to deepen their thinking is "why do you think Miss Lotta Scales became a dragon in the first place?"

Craft elements: The students can write about a book the librarian read to them during Library Day. The students can describe the book and say if they liked it or not. This is an assignment that makes a text to self connection.

[Megan Cureton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunrise Elementary School needs a new librarian. Miss Lotta Scales gets hired. She has many rules, with the main one being not touching the books. She ordered all new books and said that they are for display only. Children would get charred and singed if they had touched the books or did something to them. Until one day, Molly lost her glasses and ends up wondering into the library to look for them. Not knowing she is breaking the rules, she picks up a book and flips it open and starts to read out loud. Students are gathering around and listening to her read this story. All of a sudden Miss Lotta Scales gets wind and walks over there, only to her reaction sees the students actually enjoying the story. She takes over the story and finishes the read aloud and slowly turns into Miss Lotty. My favorite part of the story was when Miss Lotta Scales was explaining all the nasty and gross things that happen to the books when the children read them, like the smearing and the tearing. I really enjoyed this book. It reminds me of my old librarian that was worried about the books too. I think this is a great read aloud book for the students especially right before library time, to get the students in a light hearted mood and to get them excited to read books. I think they would appreciate the story and I think it will teach them to take care of the books, but also to enjoy them too, since they are for the children. I thought this book was enjoyable and would have this in my library in my classroom.

[Stephanie Siren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Type: Picture Book

Genre: Fantasy

Awards: Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (1997)

Summary:
This story is about Miss Lotta Scales becoming the Library Dragon. The story takes place in Sunrise Elementary School, sounds like a happy place to be... Until Miss Lotta Scales takes the position. Miss Lotta Scales changes a lot about Sunrise Elementary School, especially in the library. Out with the old and in with the new. The kids begin to hate story time and refuse to go to the library. Until, Molly begins to read. Will Miss Lotta Scales allow this?

Critique:
I love this story. I remember having this story read to me as a young child. This story also reminds me of the time the illustrator came to my elementary school and painted a sign for our school. This book is great for teaching kids how to handle books.

Teaching prompts:
I would use the quote "Dragon Slayer Extraordinaire" with my students. I would use it after reading the story to them. I would ask them what they would feel like if they had that title after their name. Is it good to be a Dragon Slayer? I would let the students lead the discussion after the first few questions are asked.

Craft Elements:
I would use this book during reading time before my students are allowed to go to the Media Center to check out books. I would use this book to teach my students how to take care of books. I would show my students the rules from Mrs. Lotty on how to take care of books.

[Scarlett Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The new librarian was a bit strange, she had scales, a tale, and was a fire breather. Miss Lotta Scales wasn't an ordinary librarian, she was a dragon. She was very organized and strict, she did not like children touching the books because they would tear them, smudge them, and destroy them. Kids were too scared and stopped going to the library. The principle and teachers all tried to remind her that the library is for the children and she should let them hold the books, they loved story time and missed it. Miss Lotta Scales began to get angry and started to blow smoke. Miss Lotta Scales began to close her eyes as she was guarding the books when a child named Molly wondered in to find her glasses. Molly couldn't see and stumbled into a book shelf, at that moment a book fell into her lap she began to read, not seeing the sign above her that read "don't touch the books DISPLAY only." As Molly read the book outlaid children started to listen and gathered around her. Miss Lotta Scales also heard Molly and came over to listen but she took the book out of Mollys hand and inspected it for smudges, tears, and ripped seams. After she inspected it Miss Lotta Scales gave the book back to Molly and Molly continued the story. Molly climbed up on Miss Lotta Scales lap and began story time. Miss Lotta Scales then began to change, her scales fell off and the children were looking at a new librarian named Miss Lotta, storyteller.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book begins with a circled want ad for a children’s librarian before the title page. Sunrise Elementary School “seeks a thick skinned professional” who “has a jealous love of books” and a “burning love of children.” The school’s librarian is a ferocious dragon, Miss Lotta Scales, who protects her books from every danger, including sticky little fingers. This causes the children to miss story time and to eventually stop going to the library all together. The principal and teachers try to step in, but only get “singed.” All this changes one day when a little girl, who can’t see the signs in the library without her glasses, begins to read aloud a book and makes Miss Lotta Scales realize the children belong there. This story of a dragon changed by a little girl into a loving librarian has a lot of fire and dragon puns/play on words throughout the text (“hot under the collar,” “their grades were going up in smoke,” “she was burned out”). The illustrations, while not the best, contain a lot of reading and hidden messages in them that would be fun for kids to take the time to read and connect to the story. It would be a great book to introduce how to handle books you borrow from the library or the classroom library.

[Patricia Kemp Blackmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunrise Elementary School needed a librarian so they advertised hoping for a perfect match. But what they got was Miss Lotta Scales and she did not want anyone to touch the books. It became very clear she was a REAL fire breathing dragon. So how would they get a book off the shelf and out of the library? Even the teachers came away scorched by the library dragon.

Then one day a little girl took a book off the shelf and started reading aloud and the library dragon liked what she was hearing. She actually found she enjoyed Storytime.This is a fun book and I really like the size of this book. But I guess it has to be big in order to hold a fire breathing dragon inside. When I started reading the book I could almost smell something scorching the pages.

The illustrations are colorful and the creation of the dragon librarian and her antics will entice children to find the Library Dragon in their own school library.

I recommend this book to everyone that loves their librarian.

I rated this book 5 out of 5

Disclosure
I received a free copy of this book from Peachtree Publishers for review. I was in no way compensated for this review. It is my own opinion.

[Amanda Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I start every school year with this book. I read it to all the students K through 5. Every year I point out more. Every time you re-read a book you see more. If I had more time we would count the synonyms.

This is actually the 7th year (2019) I have started the school year with this book so I have probably read it 140 times. This year my question for the year will be "what surprised you this time?" Leading up to reading the Elephant of Surprise, it is interesting to hear the students say what they hadn't noticed during previous reads. Sometimes they are shocked that they missed important details. We talk about how having background knowledge changes the level of humor, an example, I know that St. George was a dragon slayer - so I get why she would incinerate that book.

But no one ever laughs when Molly Brickmeyer holds "the book out to the scaly blur". That is my favorite line in the book. Ah, it's hysterical. If you are a grade school teacher-librarian and you have a book to start the school year off that can hold a torch to this - I want to hear about it.

[Linnea Lyding · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, eye-catching story. It is about a librarian who appears to be a dragon who hates having children in her library. There is a great deal of word play based on her being a fire breathing dragon. The pictures are bright and extremely detailed. There is a lot for the reader to take in. It ultimately shows how this horrific, frightening, beast can be melted by the love a little girl. It is a sweet story. It would be a good story to use with children when you are teaching them about looking for hidden meanings in books and/or details in pictures. It also illustrates that things that appear to be frightening may not really be so bad after all.

[Professor Ritter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Library Dragon is a witty, pun-filled story of a school librarian who protects "her" books with the ferocity of a fire breathing dragon. The teachers and the principal all try to intervene. Nothing changes, however, until a little girl, missing her glasses, wanders into the library. Since she is unable to see the warning signs posted in the library, she unwittingly saves the day by taking a book off of the shelf and reading out loud. A great story about the power of putting real books into the hands of children. A great read aloud with both humor and hope.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. Full of lots of puns on dragons/fire/scales/knights/etc. in both words and illustrations.

[Michele]

Both of my girls loved this book.

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is clearly designed to be an enjoyable read-aloud for kids, and I image they'll love it like The Librarian from the Black Lagoon, I see this as a book for librarians. The message is for librarians; no lesson for kids. I really like it and should visit it often. I make conscientious effort toward not being a library dragon, and this is a great reminder to continue to do so.