Children's Book Tuesday - The Reluctant Dragon

I love it when you find a gem you didn't know you were looking for. That is what we got with The Reluctant Dragon!

I was browsing the library shelves looking for things for Dale to read and for possible new read-alouds for us.

A book with 'dragon' in the title caught my eye, as I try to look for things that may have boysome adventures. Dragons and knights and castles usually make good stories, anyway.

What I didn't know was that I selected a book by the same author as "The Wind in the Willows".

"The Reluctant Dragon" was originally published in 1898 and was made into a Disney movie in 1941. We are reading an abridged version.

I can't vouch for the story line, because we haven't finished the book yet, but I love the language Dale is being exposed to, and I love that language that rich is holding his attention!

A quick excerpt:

A cool breeze played over the surface of the grass and the silver shoulder of a large moon was showing above distant junipers. No wonder the dragon seemed in a peaceful and contented mood; indeed, as the Boy approached he could hear the beast purring with a happy regularity... The dragon, on hearing the approaching footsteps, made the beginning of a courteous effort to rise. But when he saw it was a Boy, he set his eyebrows severely.

And a few examples of the vocabulary:

noxious

avenge

distinction

exterminated

inquiries

Even with all the 'big words', the abridged version is less than 100 pages, which makes this book very do-able. Like I said, we haven't finished yet, but so far, this has made a great read-aloud!

See more children's book at The Joyful Chaos!