Come to School, Dear Dragon

Dear Dragon

by Margaret Hillert, David Helton (Illustrator)

A boy's pet dragon visits him at school and joins in the classroom activities.

This collection features 96 books to give primary students varied book choices in a wide range of reading levels. Many of the books by well-known author, poet, and former first grade teacher Margaret Hillert. The series is divided in to four child-centered collections. Reading levels 1.2-1.3.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Margaret Hillert has written over 80 books for children who are just learning to read. Her books have been translated into many languages and have helped children throughout the world learn to read. She first started writing poetry as a child and has continued to write for children and adults throughout her life. As a first grade teacher, Margaret realized that the books available for students just learning to read were beyond their comprehension. She then began to write her easy readers and poetry for children. Her first collection of poetry Farther Than Far was published in 1969. Her many awards include the Chicago Children's Reading Round Table Annual Award for outstanding contributions to the field of children's literature. Other honors include the David W. Longe Prize and the Michigan Bookwoman of the Year Award. A teacher for 34 years, she is now retired and lives in Michigan where she continues to write stories and poetry.

Reviews

[Shakita]

I did not enjoy this book that much. It is for beginning readers so it can be read easily. I thought the book needed more, like rhyming or something. The pictures were not interesting to me. I did not like the book, but children who like dragons might enjoy the idea of having a pet dragon and bringing it to school. We could talk about the different pets we have and why we can't have them at school.

[Richelle Zirkle]

Come to School, Dear Dragon is a cute story about a boy and his dragon that follows him into school. The illustrations are good, and the language is simple and word selection is repetitive making it helpful for beginning readers. The use of activities that show what happens in an elementary classroom is familiar and works well with the target audience. The reading reinforcement activities at the end are very helpful for encouraging and supporting early readers.

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams]

Great for beginning readers.

** Talking Points: What do you like about school? What do you not like about school? What creature would you like to bring with you to school?

** Essential Oil Pairing Tip: Since we're talking school here I'd roll on doTERRA's Thinker essential oil blend. It's formulated especially for children to help boost brain power.

[Grace]

My daughter loves these books. I don't find them super compelling, but oh, well.

[Samantha]

Another dear dragon book that doesn't have the original illustrations. Also, they brought the dragon to school and told him to wait outside all day. 🤔

[Echo Proctor]

simply bad memories attached to it. hated this book with a passion at the time and still do

[Carla]

Another great addition to the Dear Dragon books that are great to teach youngsters to read. They are similar to the books I learned to read with, but seriously updated. The illustrations are fresh and when I read this with my grandson, he loved talking about the pictures and using them as clues for the words.

In this book the boy and his dragon celebrate head off to school. Dragon is told to wait outside, but he comes in anyway. The teacher lets him stay and participate in activities. At recess he helps the boy and his friends play, then at the end of the day they head home for a snack with dad. A very simple story with repetitive words for our new readers. The whole story is told with just 75 words. I love the extra activities at the back for teachers and parents such as word lists, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension activities. A great book for primary classrooms and family libraries. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

[Matthew]

This was the story of a boy with a pet dragon. Why he has a pet dragon? No one knows. It doesn't come up. In fact, it's treated the same as if he had a pet dog. Odd. Dragon follows boy to school, as dogs sometimes do, and spends the day at school with him. This probably came at about the same time that Danny and the Dinosaur was in its heyday. Odd. Just plain odd. Oh well. Can't love them all, can we?

[Davis Jennifer]

My 6 year old son recently borrowed this book from his school library.

There are many installments in the Dear Dragon Series. In this installment, the boy lets Dragon follow him to school. The boy asks Dragon to wait for him outside. Dragon decides to go inside. The class allows Dragon to help them with different activities that day.

Easy text with colorful illustrations. My son needed little to no help reading this book.

[Katie Simmons]

Oh, Dear Dragon! I love Dear Dragon! This time he goes to school with his boy. He gets to help and spend a day at the school. They look at books, go to recess, and a few more.

I love that the book only uses 75 words. I think it is fantastic that Reading Reinforcement activities are included. These activities help the child with phonics and phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension.

Thank you Norwood House Press and NetGalley for a free copy of the book for an honest review!

[Amy Mccarty]

***10/20/13D MR

[ʕᵔᴥᵔʔ]

Very Dick and Jane. Easy story to read to the children and easy story to teach them to read.

[Emily]

I liked the translation of “Ven a la escuela, querida dragon.” It was a good book for beginning readers in either language.