Cover Notes: Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannet

Three Tales of My Father's Dragon, Ruth Stiles Gannett

Cover Notes is a new series I’ll be running every Monday. Rather than focusing on covers of books I’ve read, I’ll be writing about books I’ve never read and recording my first impressions of their covers. Each book will also have an Embarrassment Factor of between zero & five, with zero meaning “a totally awesome cover I want to write fan mail about” and five meaning “I’m ashamed to be seen with this in public.”

Today’s Cover Notes post is a little different–I was busy over the weekend, and didn’t spend much time at the bookstore. So this post is based on a cover randomly picked from the “Inspired From Your Browsing History” section on the front page of Amazon.

Things I love about the cover: The colors. They’re so bold and strong without being garish and I love the way the stripes play off each other, and the starry background. I also love how plain and unassuming the title font is–it doesn’t take away from the claymation style illustration at all, but actually almost enhances it. And the curl of the dragon’s tail! So adorable! Perhaps best of all, though, is the way both dragon and child seem to be realizing they can trust each other…

Things I’m not so hot on: The stars may be a teensy bit too big, but I’m actually not sure about that. I’m hesitant to pick at this cover at all–it’s very whimsical and kid-like, and the kind of art I’d actually love to hang above my desk.

What I think it’s about: Hard call! Based on the “50 years in print” sticker, this is probably a classic, though I’m kind of behind on American classics! Anyway, I’m guessing it’s a collection of fairy tales loosely based on some existing fairy tales. The story is probably tied together by the boy’s search for something–perhaps something tangible, but something emotional, too. I don’t get a sense of specifics from this one at all, though.

Cover art by: Ruth Chrisman Gannett

Embarrassment factor: 0. I have no problem being seen with very kid-like books in public. I once had a little girl run up and tell me she loved the Katie Kazoo I was reading; another once asked me if I was really reading Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, just like she was. (And yes, I was–it’s one of my favorite books.)

The Jacket Blurb

My Father’s Dragon–a favorite of young readers since the 1940s and a Newbery honor book–captures the nonsensical logic of childhood in an amusingly deadpan fashion. The story begins when Elmer Elevator (the narrator’s father as a boy) runs away with an old alley cat to rescue a flying baby dragon being exploited on a faraway island. With the help of two dozen pink lollipops, rubber bands, chewing gum, and a fine-toothed comb, Elmer disarms the fiercest of beasts on Wild Island. The quirky, comical adventure ends with a heroic denouement: the freeing of the dragon. Abundant black-and-white lithographs by Ruth Chrisman Gannett (the author’s stepmother) add an evocative, lighthearted mood to an already enchanting story. Author Ruth Stiles Gannett’s stand-alone sequel, Elmer and the Dragon, and her third volume, The Dragons of Blueland both received starred reviews in School Library Journal and are as fresh and original as her first. (Ages 4 to 8)–Amazon

Overall: So, so wrong! Well, half wrong. I did get boy and dragon and searching, sort of. It sounds like an absolutely enchanting book, though, and one we might start reading at bed time.

Have you read Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon?