Book #51: Three Tales of My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

I have looked at a bunch of kids' reading blogs and websites for recommendations on best first chapter books for kids and this was one that was all over the place. Everybody mentioned it on their list somewhere. I had never heard of it! So I ended up actually buying a copy (shocker!) because I figured if it was universally recommended then it would be a good purchase. And it was. I read this with Dane and he didn't want me to stop reading. We actually read this in only two sittings because he kept saying, "Keep going! Don't stop!" I was surprised again how much he absorbed and understood and remembered from the storyline. The story is about a boy (the narrator's father) who goes to a magical island to rescue a dragon he knows is tied up there. Along the way to finding the dragon he runs into a whole menagerie of animals whom he has to distract and surprise using all of the tools he brought along in his backpack in order to keep them from eating him. Like the lion who was upset about his mane being messy, until the boy gave him a comb and some ribbons to braid his mane. It was silly and nonsensical and very cute, and Dane was really, really into it. Definitely a good read. I ended up buying the rest of the trilogy too because he loved it so much. I just need to figure out a good time of day for me to read one chapter a day with him, instead of just occasionally reading 5 chapters at once. I want it to be part of our routine somehow, but it's hard with having to balance reading to Graham as well (who is always, always bringing me books and begging me to read to him).

Edit: We read the rest of the trilogy and really enjoyed the other two books too. Dane REALLY loved reading and listening to the story--he was completely enthralled and had no problem remembering what we'd read previously, even when I thought it would be too complicated. I'm very impressed at his reading comprehension skills, because he definitely doesn't understand most of the bigger words, but he gets the majority of it anyways. It's pretty awesome of him.