Book Review: The Dragons of Blueland by Ruth Stiles Gannett (Father's Dragon #3)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Another fun adventure for young kids.

Cons: Still doesn't live up to the first.

The Bottom Line:

One last adventure

As Elmer teams with dragon

To free family

Elmer to the Rescue One Last Time

The Dragons of Blueland by Ruth Stiles Gannett represents the final chapter in the adventures of Elmer Elevator and his friend the baby Dragon. In the first book, Elmer rescued the Dragon from the creatures of Wild Island, and book two told of their adventures home. It isn't necessary to read these books in order, in fact this one provides a nice four paragraph summary of the previous two books, but it certainly makes them more fun.

This adventure picks up exactly where the last book left off. The Dragon has just left Elmer at home and flown off, anxious to be reunited with his family. However, he arrives in Blueland to discover something very troubling. Men have crossed the Awful Desert and trapped his family in a cave. His only hope is to find Elmer and hope his young friend can rescue his family. But since Elmer lives about a day's flight away, can he get there and back in time?

This is a short chapter book designed to encourage young kids to read. It's only 75 or so pages, and those are divided into 11 chapters, so there are plenty of breaks. The vocabulary is difficult enough to present a challenge to young readers, but they should be able to figure out most of the words. Still, having an adult nearby certainly can't hurt. And this book does make a great read aloud as well. That's how I first met Elmer myself, in fact.

Additionally, most two page spreads have at least one picture, and some are almost all picture. The pictures are wonderfully detailed pencil sketches that bring the story to life.

The first book in the series is still my favorite because of it's fun absurdity. But this book is still fun. We get to learn more about the Dragon (including his name) and his family. In fact, Elmer takes a back seat to the dragon in this book. The story is simple, but then again, the story has been simple in the other two books as well. And the passage where the Dragon describes his family to Elmer will certainly capture kids' imaginations.

Again, the characters are rather simple. The emphasis is on the story. But that won't be a problem for the target audience. They'll only be concerned about the story, and there's plenty of action to keep them entertained.

The Dragons of Blueland was originally written in 1951, but it is just as entertaining today as it was back then. If you are looking for a fun story to capture your child's imagination, check out this series.