Parents' Guide to

Dragon Gets By

By Patricia Tauzer, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Silly, loveable dragon story for new readers.

Book Dav Pilkey For Beginning Readers 1996
Dragon Gets By Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 2+

Based on 1 parent review

RecessGymClass2
RecessGymClass2 Adult
December 9, 2016
age 2+

Cute.

Very good for kids. It has nothing inappropriate for children, so they can really enjoy this book. It is also REALLY cute as well.
See all 1 parent review

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?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (1 ):

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.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • 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?

Book Details

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