- a mother and her 3 children borrow a relative’s island house for a summer
- the kids discover (and make friends with) a dragon
- convo: older sibling has a poor attitude, but she soon mends her ways; wine mentioned; mentions a strangling*; implies deaths (of bad guys); one instance of hypnotism**; one adult suggests to kids to deceive their parents
- language: x8 stupid, x1 brat, x1 shut up
Type: chapter book
Ages: 7-11
Author: Rebecca Rupp
*The mother is a mystery novel writer. It is mentioned that “the governess had just been discovered, strangled, in the conservatory.” There is no more allusion to it, and it’s pretty well swallowed up by the lightness of the rest of the story.
**It was only used to put someone to sleep for their safety.
A good portion of the book is the dragon telling the children stories. Each story is unique and “true” (from the dragon’s memories). How fun it would be to discover a friendly dragon, curl up next to him and listen to his tales? Young readers will love the enchantment of it all.
The family does have a father, but he, as a marine biologist, had to be on a ship for the summer, so the mother and kids decided to go away as well. The island is off the coast of Maine, USA.
The dragon’s stories always highlight good character traits without feeling didactic–high integrity, perseverance, courage, etc. Of course, each has its own conflict (or it wouldn’t be a good story), but the ends resolve well.
This would be a very fun read-aloud for summertime!