Books with author Ruth Gannett

The classic fantasy trilogy of Elmer Elevator and the flying baby dragon has delighted children and their parents for generations. Now, on the occasion of their fiftieth anniversary, Random House is proud to bring the three timeless tales together in one beautiful commemorative edition, complete with the original delightful illustrations. A Newbery Honor Book and an ALA Notable Book, My Father's Dragon is followed by Elmer and the Dragon ("rich, humorous, and thoroughly satisfying"*) and The Dragons of Blueland ("ingenious and plausible, the fantasy well-sustained"*). Each story stands alone, but read in succession, they are an unforgettable experience.*Library Journal, starred review

The classic fantasy trilogy of Elmer Elevator and the flying baby dragon has delighted children and their parents for generations. Now, on the occasion of their fiftieth anniversary, Random House is proud to bring the three timeless tales together in one beautiful commemorative edition, complete with the original delightful illustrations. A Newbery Honor Book and an ALA Notable Book, My Father's Dragon is followed by Elmer and the Dragon ("rich, humorous, and thoroughly satisfying"*) and The Dragons of Blueland ("ingenious and plausible, the fantasy well-sustained"*). Each story stands alone, but read in succession, they are an unforgettable experience.*Library Journal, starred review

My Father’s Dragon is a 1948 illustrated children’s novel by American author Ruth Stiles Gannett. Narrated by the unnamed son of Elmer Elevator, it tells the story of when a young Elmer traveled to Wild Island to save a dragon hatchling. Elmer uses his creativity and quick thinking to complete his rescue mission. The novel, the first in a trilogy, is followed by Elmer and the Dragon, and The Dragons of Blueland. It has been adapted into both an anime and an animated movie, and was awarded the Newbery Honor, one of the highest awards in children’s literature.The story begins in an unnamed city where Elmer lives as a child. After he befriends an alley cat and decides to take him home, his mother refuses to take the cat in. Though he cannot give him a permanent place to stay, Elmer and the cat remain friends. When Elmer tells the cat about his dream of being able to fly wherever he wants, the cat tells Elmer his story of Wild Island. On the island, a young dragon is enslaved by the local traders, who force him to carry them and their goods back and forth across the river. Elmer resolves to travel to Wild Island to save the baby dragon; the cat helps him pack enough supplies for his trip. Then, Elmer sneaks aboard a ship in the harbor and sets out to sea.

A boy risks his life to free a flying dragon in this beloved children’s classic and Newbery Honor Book. Elmer Elevator has always wanted to fly, and when he takes in an old alley cat out of the rain, he gets his chance. The grateful cat tells him about a flying dragon that lives on the faraway Wild Island, where it has been tied up by a bunch of cruel animals and forced to work incessantly. Not being the kind of boy who stands for such things, Elmer packs his knapsack and sets off to free the downtrodden dragon. Stowing aboard a ship and braving many dangers, Elmer will let nothing stop him from reaching Wild Island. But if he’s going to save the dragon and finally fly, he’ll have to dig deep into his knapsack and outwit all sorts of tricky creatures inhabiting the isle.

A runner-up for the Newbery Medal and considered one of the top chapter books for children, My Father’s Dragon is told from the unique perspective of a narrator who is describing the adventure of a father, when he was a child. After learning that a baby dragon has been imprisoned on a faraway island, the narrator’s father does what any rational and sensible child would do — goes off on a journey to rescue it. The ending is happy, of course, and the tale is a delight for the young and old alike, with the latter being transported back to their own imagination-driven childhoods.

One cold rainy day when my father was a little boy, he met an old alley cat on his street. The cat was very drippy and uncomfortable so my father said, "Wouldn't you like to come home with me?"This surprised the cat—she had never before met anyone who cared about old alley cats—but she said, "I'd be very much obliged if I could sit by a warm furnace, and perhaps have a saucer of milk."