Happy Easter, Dear Dragon

Dear Dragon

by Margaret Hillert, Carl Kock (Illustrator)

A boy and his pet dragon celebrate Easter by enjoying the spring flowers and baby animals, coloring eggs, making an egg tree, hunting for Easter eggs, marching in the Easter parade, and going to church.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

31 pages, Hardcover

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

[Kathryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ohmygosh! I wanted to hurtle this book across the room watch it crumple against the wall. I only kept reading out of some revolted fascination. This book represents everything I hate about pushing "learning to read." As if the story itself were not so insultingly boring and dumbed-down, the little blurb in the front about how to "teach" this book to a child (i.e., make your child repeat the repetitive words until they learn them...) made me ill. If I believed that this type of drivel were my reward for learning to read, I probably would never have bothered to learn!!!

I know this is a total soap-box tirade, but few books have annoyed and dismayed me so much. Well-intentioned parents, please do NOT make your children suffer with a book like this. Instead, read them GOOD stories and let them develop a love of language and storytelling--the rest will follow!

[T.J. Burns · Rating 2 out of 5]

As in all the books in the Dear Dragon series, I love the beautiful drawings and the story line. I also appreciate the addition of the Spanish vocabulary. Studies have shown that the best time to learn a first, second, or even third language is from the prenatal period until about three years old.

My critique of this book, and most books in the series, concerns the book's failure to use specific words to describe specific objects, places, and actions.

If the book is designed to be read to the child, it can easily afford to have more vocabulary words in it. Children's brains are like sponges -- there is no reason for words like "this" and "it" and "ones" and "here" and "something" to be overloaded in a book, as is the case here.

"Look at this-- and this-- and this!" At what? And what? And what? If the point is for the child to guess the words, this book would be for very young children and not new readers. For either age group, the words should be listed somewhere, perhaps on the next page.

"What pretty ones." Pretty what?

"See here and here and here." Where and where and where?

The whole book goes on that way -- unspecified. Why not specify? Why not name the words: flower, butterfly, rainbow, egg, painting, basket, church, etc.?

If the book is meant for new readers, say the preschool to first grade level, then the vocabulary choices are much too sparse in this book -- even more reason to substitute "this," "it," "here," "ones," and "something" for more specific words. It's never too early to encourage children to express themselves -- and this book does the exact opposite. It encourages children to be vague and nonspecific in their sentence formulations, which is counterproductive to language learning.

Note: My daughter spoke three languages fluently before she was two years old. At three years old she could translate entire sentences and even entire conversations in all six directions. We should not underestimate young children's ability to take in new words, and learn new languages -- they just need to be exposed to them on a regular basis.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dear Dragon series is made up of several books that are easy readers. It reminds me of the books I learned to read with. This one is just a little different in that it is written in both Spanish and English.

In this book, the boy and his dragon participate in spring activities and discover signs of spring. They colour Easter Eggs, decorate a tree with the eggs and the boy and his family go to church. There is not mention of the Christian meaning of Easter besides attending church. A very simplistic story that doesn't tell much about Easter. All this is told in simple, repetitive, easy vocabulary. This is a simple book that can be used to build confidence in a beginning reader or to use with readers learning a second language, either English or Spanish. They could also be read aloud to young children who are not able to read yet. The back of the book has several suggested activities that can be used for reading reinforcement. A great addition to a family library or a primary classroom. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all my two-star rating is since of a comedic sign. My oldest niece who is 14 was the one that I got the book for to begin with since she likes dragons and looking back upon it now can help me to laugh since she so definitely doesn't recommend it to anyone including her four-year-old sister who wants to keep it for that reason.

Anyway the story just goes over the events of a boy and his dragon as they prepare for Easter. The book is bland and repetitive with some of the same words to supposedly drill them into your head but looking at the original publishing date as being 1950 I can say thankfully times and how to teach your kids to read has changed.

There still may be an audience out there that can use this type of book and so even if you want to throttle it just quietly slip it into your pediatric lobby for some other sick child to find.

[Shelbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one started out strong, but it became very confusing for the preschoolers. The illustrations were outdated and did not convey what the text was depending on it to convey. The children did not understand that the "you" in the story was the dragon and became very lost trying to understand vague commands. This story feels like it takes an older kid's maturity to get it, despite it being labeled as .9 on the AR level scale.

[Samantha]

I remember loving to read the Dear Dragon books in kindergarten in the 90's. The book I got from the library seems to have newer illustrations, so that was a bit disappointing. I wanted to see what I had read as a child. Also, they told the dragon he couldn't go to church, which I thought was a bad message.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy and his dragon celebrate Easter in a very well-trod fashion, with candy, decorated eggs, the sights of spring, and church.
I get a kick out of the retro illustrations, which remind me of the school readers of my childhood. As others have noted, we thankfully have different ideas about learning to read these days, and the clunky, non-descriptive text leaves much to be desired.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

My children absolutely adore this book. Reading literature is so important to the development of a child's mind, and I cannot think of thing I would rather do then sit down to read to them in the evenings. Imagination and growth are so vital in those so young.

[Konner Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every single book in the large Dear Dragon series is perfect for your kindergartener! Focus on this and the "There wad an Old Lady" books and your midget will be reading ahead of their classmates in no time!

[Paula Greenfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick and fun holiday read.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didnt enjoy the actual story so I made up my own. But it was in spanish and has a dragon so it worked for us.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feliz Pascua, Querido Dragon / Happy Easter, Dear Dragon by Margaret Hillert This is a great book in so many ways. It as a cute easy and quick to read story. But it also features the story in both English and Spanish on the same page. The pictures are very nicely done throughout the book. The words are easy words for beginning readers. I like that the child can learn to read  the book in the chosen language and then when they have that mastered they can learn it in either English or Spanish.  Also at the end of the book their are teaching tips fr the parents to make this book educational for the child.  Younger children from 2 to 5 will enjoy the story itself but from 5 and up can use this book for learning as well.
 
The story is about a boy and his pet dragon. In the beginning they are outside enjoying all the newness Spring has to offer from brightly colored flowers to new baby ducks. Then they go inside and decorate Easter eggs, decorate an Easter tree, have a egg hunt, go to church, and enjoy Easter. 
 
I received this book from the author or publisher on netgalley.com to read and review.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking at a copy of “Happy Easter, Dear Dragon” at the library today, and I think that the illustrations are being updated, and that’s why there are so many editions showing up on Netgalley. I definitely prefer the updates! This story was a little bland - for a majority of the book, if you changed the illustrations, it could have been about anything. I did appreciate the Spanish that was included.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

My children absolutely adore this book. Reading literature is so important to the development of a child's mind, and I cannot think of thing I would rather do then sit down to read to them in the evenings. Imagination and growth are so vital in those so young.