Overview
When the eggs hatches, and a baby dragon comes out, George knows exactly what to do. A baby dragon needs to learn how dragons are supposed to act, including how to fly, how to breathe fire, and how to defeat a knight-so George starts the dragon lessons right away! The dragon learns quickly, but he is anxious to find his own kind. Then George wakes up the next morning and the little dragon is missing. Will George ever see his dragon again?
George hatches a dragon from a strange egg that he finds and then faces the challenge of raising him properly.
Synopsis
When the egg hatches, and a baby dragon comes out, George knows exactly what to do. A baby dragon needs to learn how dragons are supposed to act, including how to fly, how to breathe fire, and how to defeat a knight—so George starts the dragon on lessons right away! The dragon learns quickly, but he is anxious to find his own kind. Then George wakes up the next morning and the little dragon is missing. Will George ever see his dragon again?
Publishers Weekly
In the tantalizing opening pages of this fantasy, a boy peers into a henhouse and sees a hen perched upon an enormous golden-brown egg: "George knew something wasn't right when he found more than he bargained for under his mother's favorite chicken." The only clue to the egg's source is a mysterious hole in the henhouse roof. George uses a wheelbarrow to maneuver the armchair-sized egg into his house, and in a tense four-part spread, he watches as something ("It definitely wasn't a chicken!") starts to hatch. After an all-too-brief period of suspense, a muscular, bat-winged baby dragon emerges, and George patiently trains it to fly and to aim its fiery breath. Robertson's (The Bed and Breakfast House) delicate, detail-rich watercolors resemble those in Peter Collington's wordless books, and indeed some of Robertson's multipanel illustrations convey the duo's silent communication (since George "didn't speak Dragon"). In one sequence, a lesson in "How to Defeat a Knight," George uses a wooden sword to mimic a certain saint, then waves a white flag as the dragon looks at him with affection. Yet many practical considerations go unpictured: How does George get the gigantic egg through his bedroom door? How does he befriend the dragon? And what does a kid feed a giant green lizard? Robertson hints at the magic in his opening pages, but unlike other tales with similar premises (such as Dick King-Smith's middle-grade novel The Water-Horse), his story doesn't realize its potential. Ages 4-8. (Jan.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
In the tantalizing opening pages of this fantasy, a boy peers into a henhouse and sees a hen perched upon an enormous golden-brown egg: "George knew something wasn't right when he found more than he bargained for under his mother's favorite chicken." The only clue to the egg's source is a mysterious hole in the henhouse roof. George uses a wheelbarrow to maneuver the armchair-sized egg into his house, and in a tense four-part spread, he watches as something ("It definitely wasn't a chicken!") starts to hatch. After an all-too-brief period of suspense, a muscular, bat-winged baby dragon emerges, and George patiently trains it to fly and to aim its fiery breath. Robertson's (The Bed and Breakfast House) delicate, detail-rich watercolors resemble those in Peter Collington's wordless books, and indeed some of Robertson's multipanel illustrations convey the duo's silent communication (since George "didn't speak Dragon"). In one sequence, a lesson in "How to Defeat a Knight," George uses a wooden sword to mimic a certain saint, then waves a white flag as the dragon looks at him with affection. Yet many practical considerations go unpictured: How does George get the gigantic egg through his bedroom door? How does he befriend the dragon? And what does a kid feed a giant green lizard? Robertson hints at the magic in his opening pages, but unlike other tales with similar premises (such as Dick King-Smith's middle-grade novel The Water-Horse), his story doesn't realize its potential. Ages 4-8. (Jan.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.Publishers Weekly
A boy peers into a henhouse and sees a hen perched upon an enormous golden-brown egg. When a muscular, bat-winged baby dragon emerges, the boy patiently trains it to fly. According to PW, "The delicate, detail-rich watercolors resemble those in Peter Collington's wordless books." Ages 4-up. (Feb.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
Most of us would probably faint if we found what George found in his mother's chicken house one morning. What he found was an egg to be sure, but it was a simply enormous egg, a mammoth egg. George however was a very sensible and level-headed boy and instead of fainting he took the egg to his warm bedroom and read it stories. This George did faithfully for three days and three nights. Then the egg hatched and George discovered that the egg contained not a chicken but a dragon. George, being the kind of boy he was, was not overwhelmed or daunted at the prospect of becoming a "mother" to the dragon. Instead, he set about teaching the dragon "dragony ways," with skill and a clear understanding of what a young dragon should know in life. It is only when George is reading his dragon a book of dragon tales that George discovers that his creature is lonely and in need of dragon company. The next day the dragon is gone but not for long. When he returns he has something of his own to share with George, his devoted and loving "mother." With wonderful illustrations and a great skill with descriptive prose the author of this book takes us on an extraordinary journey. During this expedition into an unknown world we share the bond that exists between George and his dragon and we see how love, and good sense, can make all the difference in a difficult situation. A gentle and warmly humorous tone, and an understanding of how young people think on the part of the author makes this a very special book indeed. 2003 (orig. 2000), Puffin, Ages 3 to 6.—Marya Jansen-Gruber