Puff the Magic Dragon

"Puff the Magic Dragon" book cover

When I was little, most nights my mom sang the song "Puff the Magic Dragon" to me before going to bed (my mother loved Peter, Paul and Mary).  I was so thrilled when I found out there was a beautifully illustrated storybook, Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton, that matches the classic song.  When I was little, I always cried at the end, because of the message that we all grow up and leave things behind.  Well, this new book doesn't change the original song, but it adds a part to the end that shows a little girl approaching the dragon so that children will feel that Puff will not be alone for the rest of his life.  I personally really like this addition.  This is a splendid book with which to do a picture walk and have your students tell the story before you read it to them.  I played the song for my students as we turned the pages in the book.  My students especially liked the pirate ship page.

My pre-k students are really into fantasy books right now, so they asked me if I could make a dragon book that they could read by themselves.  I loved this idea, since my kiddos are really beginning to spell words.  Since color words are so important for the beginning of kindergarten, I thought I could prepare my students by making them this book:
Color Dragons

This book reminded me of a whole series of books that I made for my kindergarten students that moved them along from reading at DRA level 6 to level 18 in some cases.  The whole fantasy genre is so fascinating to young children, both boys and girls alike.  I decided to put up on TPT an entire Fantasy Guided Reading Unit that is ideal for advanced kindergarten students but also useful for first grade.

I hope your students enjoy taking a pretend visit to Honalee!