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Dragon Gets By (by Dav Pilkey)

common sense media says

Silly, loveable dragon story for new readers.

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that nothing harmful or inappropriate is presented in this beginning reader.

Positive messages: Not applicable.
Violence & scariness: Not applicable.
Language: Not applicable.
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More on Dragon Gets By

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about all the things that go wrong from the time the dragon gets up, and they can laugh together at the silliness. Do you ever feel groggy in the morning? Can you imagine reading an egg and frying the newspaper? What kinds of goofy things have you done when you haven't had enough sleep? On a more serious note, this book presents the perfect forum for discussing the five basic food groups and what really goes in each. Why would cheese curls, doughnuts, ketchup, and pork rinds be bad choices? What would have been better?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Five different stories in this book describe parts of a day in the blue dragon's life. From the time he wakes up, things don't go too well. He reads an egg and fries the newspaper, tries to sweep the dirt from his dirt floor, digs a hole to hold the dirt he has piled up, has a disastrous shopping trip, and after all that, waters his bed and goes to sleep in his plants. The dragon gets by ... but just barely.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Beginning readers will get a kick out of all the silly things that happen to the little blue dragon. The pages are full of that goofy, kid-style humor. Older readers may laugh the first time through, but this will not be one of their favorites to read aloud over and over at bedtime.

Part of a large collection of Dragon Tales, this story of the loveable little blue dragon's bad day is slightly reminiscent of the Frog and Toad books, though the adventures are not as developed. Cute, bright cartoonish illustrations done in watercolor with pencil fill the pages, and the accompanying text is easy to read. While kids may not understand all of the humor at first, especially the part about the food groups, they will get caught up in the silliness very quickly.

Book themes & details

Book Details
Author: Dav Pilkey
Illustrator: Dav Pilkey
Publisher: Orchard Books
Publication date: September 1, 1996
Number of pages: 48
Paperback price: $4.99
Read Aloud: 4
Read Alone: 6
This review was written by Patricia Tauzer
 
 

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