Series: Chapter Books To Read To Little Boys – “My Father’s Dragon”

A while back, I shared with you my “Top 10 List Of Chapter Books To Read To Little Boys.”

I also made a little promise that I would take you through each one of those books, providing you with fun and interactive questions and games, similar to 토토사이트, to supplement each chapter.

I’d say it’s high time that I made good on that promise.  🙂

So, here we go!

Every other week (or so) we will dive into one of the books on the aforementioned list.  I will provide games and activities to go along with each chapter, all designed to strengthen our kiddos’ comprehension skills.  (but mostly it’s just designed to be fun)

I hope you enjoy this series!

For the first book, I chose to go through “My Father’s Dragon.”

Have you ever read this book?  It is everything a little boy’s imagination is filled with…hiking, danger, rescue, exploration.

Basically, a little boy takes off on his own for a few days to Wild Island.  He is determined to rescue a captive baby dragon so that he can fly around on its back.  Wild Island is filled with an assortment of wild animals with very strange quirks and personalities, and the little boy must out-wit them all.

My boys loved it…I loved it!

It’s a very simple, easy-to-read book.  There are 10 chapters, and it took about 2 weeks for us to get through the whole book.  The chapters are pretty short, so it’s perfect for young listeners!

Here’s the game plan:

“My Father’s Dragon” – Activities and Games

Chapter One:  My Father Meets the Cat

Elmer befriends a talking cat and invites him to stay at his home.  His mother, however, detests cats and refuses to allow the cat to stay.  Elmer meets the cat in the park to talk.  After dreaming about where they would like to fly to, the cat shares a secret with Elmer:  there is a special place, Wild Island, where Elmer could make his dreams of flying come true.

Activity:
Question:  What is one way, other than an airplane, that you could fly somewhere?  Where would you like to go?
Assignment:  Draw a picture to show how you would fly and where you would go.

This picture is hilarious…Rudy decided that his flying adventure would include flying over a snake pit on a hang glider.

Chapter Two:  My Father Runs Away

Elmer finds out that there is a baby dragon being held captive on Wild Island.  All of the selfish animals on the island use the dragon, who is tied to a rope, to be flown back and forth across a river, like a ferry.  The cat convinces the boy to secretly pack a bag and plan a trip to Wild Island to save the dragon, who will surely be so thankful that he was rescued that he will fly Elmer around as much as the boy would like.

Activity:
It’s time to pack!  If you were going on a rescue mission to a jungle island all by yourself, what would you pack in your backpack?  You have 10 minutes, go pack your bag!
(Set a timer for 10 minutes and have your child pack a bag of the items needed for a rescue mission.)

Only the essentials…toy radio, sword, “Hank the Cowdog” book, and a Chick-Fil-A cow.

Chapter Three:  My Father Finds the Island

Elmer hid in the hold of a ship headed to the port of Cranberry, which was near Wild Island.  He disguised himself by hiding in a food bag that looked like all of the other food bags in the ship.  When he got off the ship, he made the difficult journey to Wild Island.  He had to cross a long line of boulders that connected the Island of Tangerina to Wild Island.  Elmer had been told by the cat to cross at night so that all of the wild animals wouldn’t see him and prevent him from getting to Wild Island.

Activity:
Game:  It’s time to disguise yourself in a “bag of food” and have your child try to figure out which “bag” you are in!  Find three sheets, towels, or blankets.  Use two of the sheets to cover 2 small piles of pillows on the floor – shape the pillows so that it looks like a person might be lying under the sheet.  Give your child a stick (like a yard stick) and tell him that he is going to poke (gently!) the three “bags” and try to guess which one you are hiding in.  When he leaves the room, hide under the remaining sheet.  Call him in and tell him to poke around on the bags and guess which bag contains the mommy!
Question:  What are some other ways that Elmer could have hidden himself on the ship?

On second thought, maybe having him poke with a stick wasn’t the best idea.

Chapter Four:  My Father Finds the River

Elmer has finally made his way into the jungles of Wild Island.  He is going to follow the river to get to the dragon.  He hikes only at night so as to remain undiscovered.  However, he experiences 3 close calls:  a confused mouse mistakes him for an unusual rock, he sneezes and a pair of tortoises hear him, and he nearly runs into 2 wild boars who were discussing the evidence that points to an invasion of their island – Elmer’s tangerine peels that he left behind.

Activity:
Game:  Your child is going to follow the trail of “tangerine peels” that you left behind.  First, give your child several sheets of orange construction paper and have him rip them into mason-jar-lid-sized pieces.   While you make the trail of construction paper tangerine peels around the house, have him draw a map of Wild Island (complete with the river, the rocks between Wild Island and the Island of Tangerina, and the dragon tied along the river).  Drop your “tangerine peels” in a fun path all around the house – under tables, across furniture, tape them up the wall – and then turn all of the lights off.  Tell your child to use the map he drew and to follow the tangerine peels to where the little boy is hiding.  (Leave a little treat at the end of the trail.)  Happy hunting!

Following the “orange peels” all over the house was definitely Mark’s favorite activity!

Chapter Five:  My Father Meets Some Tigers

Hiking in the jungle was very difficult – there were roots sticking way up, there were thorns and sticky branches, and the trees were so close together that it was nearly impassable.  Elmer was relieved to finally stumble into a clearing, but quickly realized that the clearing was occupied by 14 hungry tigers.  Right before the tigers pounced on him, Elmer cleverly outwitted them.  He offered them all a piece of “magic” chewing gum, stating that if they chewed it and then planted it, it would grow chewing gum trees.  As they chewed away, Elmer snuck off.

Activity:
Craft:  Make a paper plate tiger face.  The tiger face will have a huge open mouth with sharp teeth.  After getting it all decorated and colored, have your child chew several pieces of gum (they’re gonna love this part!) and then stick it in the tiger’s mouth.

Haha, this definitely turned out more disgusting than I had imagined. 🙂

Chapter Six:  My Father Meets a Rhinoceros

As Elmer found safety along an old animal trail, he came up behind the wild boars again.  They were still speaking of their suspicions about an invasion to their island.  Elmer hid behind a tree as they walked off, and then he continued to a stream to get a sip of water.  As he was drinking, an angry rhino picked him up with its tusk and threated to drown him in the water.  Elmer found out that the angry rhino was very upset about the yellow color of his tusk, which used to be a pearly white.  Elmer offered the rhino a toothbrush and toothpaste and told him that if he scrubbed it hard, the tusk would be pearly white again.  Elmer escaped while the rhino was busy cleaning his tusk.

Activity:
*This game will require a little preparation before hand:  you will need to soak a boiled egg in a cup of coke overnight prior to the activity.
Game:  Tell your child that your are going to scrub a brown, dirty tusk just like the rhino did in the book.  Collect your boiled egg (which should be stained an ugly brown), a toothbrush, and some toothpaste.  On an easy-to-clean work surface, have your child scrub the “dirty tusk” with toothpaste and the toothbrush.  It should become a brilliant white again!  Once he is finished, help him draw a happy face on the egg with a sharpie.  (Because the rhino is happy again!)

So this totally turned into a discussion about the yucky effects that coke has on our teeth. 🙂

Chapter Seven:  My Father Meets a Lion

As Elmer continued down the trail toward the dragon, he came across another clearing.  In the middle of the clearing was a very angry lion.  Elmer decided to sneak around the lion, but just as he was nearing safety, the lion spotted him.  Before being eaten by the lion, Elmer found out the lion was very upset about the condition of his tangled, unruly mane.  Elmer suggested that the lion use his brush and ribbons that were in his backpack.  As the lion was busy grooming himself, Elmer snuck away down the trail.

Activity:
Craft:  Your child is going to create a paper plate lion face and “tidy up” the mane (pipe cleaners) with ribbons.

The pre-manicured lion.

All gussied up!

Chapter Eight:  My Father Meets a Gorilla

Just as Elmer was nearing the bank of the river where he was sure he would find the dragon, he experienced 2 close encounters…one with the suspicious boars and one with a proud lioness.  He remained unseen, however, and continued to the river’s edge.  As he was pondering what to do next, a huge, angry gorilla dropped right in front of him.  Just as the gorilla was about to twist Elmer’s arms, he started scratching his fur frantically and cursing the fleas on him.  He called his monkey friends to come find the fleas, but they couldn’t find the tiny bugs.  Elmer offered them 6 magnifying glasses to aid in the removal of the fleas from the gorilla’s fur.  As they were picking fleas, Elmer escaped.

Activity:
Question:  What does a magnifying glass do?  What are some things that would be really neat to see under a magnifying glass?
Activity:  Draw a picture of what something tiny would look like under a magnifying glass.

Rudy drew a magnifying glass that was observing a germ. He even spelled it for me…”Jrm.” 🙂

Chapter Nine:  My Father Makes a Bridge

Elmer realized that, even though he had reached the crossing point at the river where the dragon was tied up, the dragon was on the other side of the river.  He decided to trick the crocodiles into making a bridge across the river that he could walk over.  He tied lollipops to the tails of 17 crocodiles and had them make a line all the way across the river.  As he walked across their backs, the crocodiles happily licked the lollipops that were tied to the tail of the crocodile in front of him.

Activity:
Question:  If crocodiles love lollipops, what are the favorite candies of all of the other animals of Wild Island?
Activity:  Print out this page that I created.  Have your child color all of the animals, and then draw their favorite type of candy at their mouth.  In the box marked “ME,” have him draw his own face with his favorite candy in his mouth.

All of the animals, as well as Rudy himself, apparently love gum balls.

Chapter Ten:  My Father Finds the Dragon

Elmer gets to the other side of the river and finds the baby dragon tied up.  The dragon is so relieved that someone is there to rescue him!  But as Elmer is trying to cut through the rope, all of  the animals that he has tricked are furiously crossing the river on the crocodiles’ backs.  Just as they were all about to step on shore, the crocodiles started swimming away, with all of the angry animals on top!  Elmer and the dragon fly to safety and never return to Wild Island again.

Activity:
Elmer is safe and the dragon is free!  To remind your child of the courage and sacrifice that Elmer exhibited during his adventure, you and your child are going to make a freed baby dragon to hang from his bedroom light / ceiling fan.
Use this printable dragon color sheet.  Have your child color it and then you can both hang it in his room.  And of course, I always laminate everything.  🙂  I recommend you do it if you can.

They love their new dragon friend!

I hope you and your child enjoyed this first book in our “Chapter Books Series!”  There will be many more to come in the upcoming weeks and months.

What books have you been enjoying with your children lately?

Lauren Souers

Hi, my name is Lauren. I am the wife of one fine man and the momma of four (huge) young children – three boys and one princess! I love all of them. I mostly clean up messes and feed people all day, and it’s really fun to write about it. Jesus is the rock of my family – we love and serve a mighty King! I hope you leave here full of hope that “tired” can be good.