PPBF: Dragon And Captain

It's International Day of Happiness and guess what's happening?

44 billboards ... 19 cities ... 10 million smiles ... one goal:

Inspiring America!

Click the happy map for more information.

As you may know, I've partnered with The Joy Team to put the one in San Antonio that reads: SUPERHEROES are real. You're one of them. It goes up today if it's not already up and we can't wait to see it next weekend. 

Don't you love this one? So grateful. 

So, to spread a smile across your face, I've made us some strawberry muffins from some of the berries Joshua and I picked yesterday. 

Wait, what? You gave up sweets for Lent? No worries; you can still enjoy some fresh berries. So grab some coffee or tea and meet me in the breakfast nook while we adventure with today's PPBF.

Title: Dragon and Captain

Author: P. R. Allabach

Illustrator: Lucas Turnbloom 

Publisher: Flashlight Press

Date: April 1, 2015

Suitable for: ages 5-7

Fiction

Themes: point of view, imagination, friendship 

Brief Synopsis: Two young boys let imaginative play run wild as they work together in search of a lost ship. Can they find it ... before lunch?

Opening Page:

Resources: Visit the Publisher's page {here}.

Enjoy a flip through the virtual book {here}.

Check out the book's Facebook page {here}.

Why I like this book: 

The top three things that drew me to this newcomer include:

1. The incredible illustrations. Flip through that virtual book and you'll see what I'm talking about. Engagingly brilliant and eye-catchingly bold, Turnbloom's drawings are sure to suck you in to the adventure of these two creative kids. They're that real!

2. A connection to Calvin and Hobbes. The two friends in this tiny treasure are so reminiscent of that out-of-bounds Boy and his Tiger from Bill Watterson's comic strip. From 1985-1995, the Sunday paper couldn't arrive early enough for just a handful of comics, and Calvin's escapades topped that list. We all knew that Calvin was just a boy and Hobbes his stuffed animal, but their adventures jumped off of the printed page because we got to see Hobbes through Calvin's eyes, a perfect parallel with what's happening in Dragon and Captain.

Click picture for source.

 Use the book for a point of view lesson, then compare and contrast it with Calvin & Hobbes. Coincidentally, there was an article about this comic and an interview with Watterson just yesterday {here}.

3. Memories of my kids' younger days. They'd spend all morning playing in the sandbox, on the swing set and/or in their plastic swimming pool, then come in for lunch and spend some quiet time playing cards or board games, doing a craft or drawing. In early elementary, the older two used to love writing books. I dug up this flip-book attempt at animation recently and it made my heart happy.

With its comic-book-style whimsy, Dragon and Captain can serve as a springboard for a writing project to fuel your pirates' fantasies. Host a gallery walk to let students showcase their work in a costume that complements its theme. 

{You could couple it with International Talk Like A Pirate day September 19th.}

A myriad of reasons to set sail with Dragon and Captain;

arrrrrrgh ya ready to check it out and discover why?

Oh, and don't forget to head to Susanna's blog for more PPBF picks.