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Geisel award-winning author/illustrator Geoffrey Hayes is a stepped reader maestro. The common threads between his wildly popular Uncle Tooth and Otto SIRs and the more recent Benny and Penny series (Toon Books) are clear and constant. The art is adorable, the characters are bursting with personality, and the stories are humorously subversive. From marauding pirates to misbehaving mice to a dragon who swallows people whole (and then continues to communicate with them in his belly!), Geoffrey always hits that sweet spot for the stepped reader audience—easy to decode, illustrative tales that tickle the funnybone.
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
August 23, 2011 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780375899386
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780375899386
- File size: 22770 KB
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 3
- Lexile® Measure: 470
- Interest Level: K-3(LG)
- Text Difficulty: 0-2
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Reviews
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June 27, 2011
This jolly Step into Reading title stars a less-than ferocious dragon who leaves home with a to-do list and a directive from his father: "Make us proud of you." Fred's instructions seem simple enoughârun amok, eat people, roar, breathe fire, act scaryâbut prove difficult to pull off. He gets dizzy when he tries to run amok, the castle cook tells him his roar "sounds like a meow," and the princess announces that the fire he breathes "looks like a birthday candle." But Fred is good at eating people, and with a smug "I'll show you," he swallows the cook, princess, and a singing bird whole, which makes his stomach ache. With the help of a witch, a giant, and a shepherd boy, Fred's victims are freed, and he happily takes up residence in the castle moat. Punchy dialogue (castle cook Mrs. Green is, in particular, a spitfire) and compact sentences should make this a read-aloud delight, while Hayes's (the Benny and Penny books) cartoons, in which these classic fairy tale characters resemble toys, add significant fun of their own. Ages 7â9. -
June 1, 2011
K-Gr 2-A young dragon's parents send him off to make his way in the world with advice on how to be a good dragon: "Rum amok. Eat People. Roar. Breathe fire. Act scary." But none of this comes naturally to Fred; despite his scary red eyes, each of his well-meaning attempts fizzles. Having eaten several folks he's met along the way (including a princess and a frog chef), he develops a major bellyache and enlists the help of a giant, a witch, and a shepherd to extricate them. When all of the characters are themselves again, the princess asks Fred to become her palace's House Dragon-no fire-breathing required-a position for which he is happily suited. Entertaining black-line and colored pencil cartoon drawings enliven this Kuklapolitan-esque cast. Part-slapstick, part-fairy tale, the gently humorous plot has enough twists and turns to keep newly independent readers engaged.-Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT
Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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January 1, 2012
Fred the dragon leaves home with a list of dragon-esque tasks (e.g, "run amok," "eat people"). It turns out Fred is not so great at--or interested in--these things, so he makes his own path. Short, simple sentences; light humor; and colorful, silly illustrations make this a solid choice for newly independent readers. The book would also work well as a read-aloud.(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
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