From: Steven at westlinn.lib.or.us <Steven>
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 17:36:07 PST

My Father's Dragon was "only" an Honor Book (1949), but I call it a classic. I still haven't read a better first chapter book to recommend to young readers, and it's also a perfect first choice for adults to read aloud to younger kids. I don't think it's dated at all.
 What amazes me is the fact that it's been almost fifty years and no one has ever written anything quite like it. Action packed, cliff-hanger chapter endings, subtle (but not too subtle) humor..it has it all. Besides all that, I just love the tone of the book and the way the story is told. Meeting a talking cat and packing a knapsack to run away for adventure are treated so matter-of?ctly, without any bother about how amazing or daring any of the events are.

Miss Hickory (1947) has a bit of that quality too, though I wouldn't put it on the level of My Father's Dragon.. I don't usually care for doll stories, but Miss H. is such an unapologetically stubborn character, yet likable at the same time. It seems like an old?shioned tale, but it's never predictable. The best surprise, of course, is when the title character gets her head eaten, which I think must be a unique moment in children's literature. It's certainly not the most popular Newbery, but I feel like it has a strong appeal to a certain kind of reader and will keep that appeal over the years.

Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library, Oregon, USA e-mail: steven at westlinn.lib.or.us ph: 503e6x57 fax: 503e6'46
Received on Thu 03 Jul 1997 08:36:07 PM CDT