Danny's Dragon
Janet Muirhead Hill, Pat Lehmkuhl
language
(Raven Publishing, Inc., June 1, 2006)
When a Montana rancher is called to serve his country—and doesn’t come back—how will his family cope? See the answer through the eyes of 10-year-old Danny Branahan. Danny’s father went to war in Iraq and was killed in action. Danny struggles with the various stages of grief as he remembers good times with his father. With his vivid imagination, he turns Dragon, the horse his father gave him, into a means of escaping the reality he cannot accept. To add to his grief, financial problems caused by his father’s death force Danny, his mother, and sister to leave their Montana ranch. Danny’s struggle to understand himself, his family, and the world is compounded when he attends a Denver public school and comes face to face with the “enemy” — a boy from Iraq. A kind teacher plays a part in Danny’s recovery and the lessons he learns.