This is the second book in the My Father’s Dragon trilogy.
Book 1: My Father’s Dragon
Book 2: Elmer and the Dragon
Book 3: The Dragons of Blueland
Elmer and the Dragon picks up exactly where My Father’s Dragon left off, with Elmer and the dragon rising up into the air and flying away from the island. After making their way through a bad storm, they find they must take shelter on a new island, one inhabited by canaries. Dragon, as it turns out, is a bit of a whiner (only to be expect since he’s a baby dragon) but Elmer is gentle and kind and pokes, gently prods and rewards him to move him along. Together they discover a canary who was once a pet of Elmer’s but now lays before him a terrible problem. The canaries keeping dying of curiosity (quite literally, in fact). Elmer and the dragon do their best to put a stop to this by unearthing a long buried treasure. Of course, all of this is accomplished just in time for Elmer to return home for his father’s birthday.
A very cute follow-up to the first, it’s similar in tone and feeling. Again this does well as a beginning chapter book or as a read aloud for smaller children. There’s not much to fear here, even the literal death from curiosity, although I’m sure wicked parents could use that to their advantage if children are overly inquisitive.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – None.
Profanity – “stupid,”
Death, Violence and Gore – Elmer keeps a jackknife on him. Many canaries die of curiosity.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – None.
Frightening or Intense Things – None.
