Dragonbreath

by Ursula Vernon

Hardcover, 2009

Status

Available

Series

Dragonbreath (1)

Genres

Graphic Novels

Graphic Novels and Comics

Comics

All Topics

Fiction

Publication

Dial Books (2009), Edition: Illustrated, 160 pages

Description

Danny Dragonbreath and his friend Wendell get an up-close underwater tour of the Sargasso Sea from Danny's sea-serpent cousin, encountering giant squid and mako sharks--and learn about standing up to bullies in the process.

Rating

½ (107 ratings; 3.7)

User reviews

LibraryThing member LemurKat

A short and easy read for adults, and what would be a fun romp for a younger reader. Filled with excitement and humour, Ursula Vernon, a scientist-come-artist, delights in introducing the reader to the wonderful world of the ocean, as Danny and his friend Wendell research a school project. The

little comics add interest to the story and should be particularly enjoyed by the more reluctant reader. Vernon never patronises the reader, never talks down to them, and has inserted some pretty sly humour - which might make the adult reading it aloud, guffaw with laughter.

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LibraryThing member librarybrandy

I wasn't blown away by this. It's getting lots of comparisons to Babymouse, which I can sort of see, but I really wish this were told entirely in comics instead of a few pages of comics and then a bunch of prose. Vernon does some excellent sequential art storytelling (look up her webcomic epic

Digger) but her prose isn't at the same quality.

It was fun, I enjoyed it, and I'll be passing it along to the children's librarian for purchase, but it didn't wow me. Alas.

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LibraryThing member wbentrim

Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon

Two pals play pirate and have unusual friends. Of course the fact that one of the pals is a fireless dragon and the other nerdy lizard does play a part in their unusual friends. This is a delightful story of homework avoidance and dealing with peers.

I enjoyed the

repartee of Danny and Wendell. It could have been my grandson and his buddy bantering back and forth. Their adventure was cute and age appropriate for the target market. I gave the book to my 11 year old grandson and his first question after reading it was when could he get the next one.

I enjoyed the book and my 11 year old grandson enjoyed it, we both recommend it.

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LibraryThing member ChristianR

Boys will especially love this slimy tale of Danny the Dragon who visits his underwater cousin the sea serpent to do research for a paper about oceans. His cousin Edward takes Danny and his friend Wendall to a coral reef, a sunken ship, and the very deep part of the ocean where it is darker than

dark. Wendall gets scared, Danny thinks it's all really cool, and they almost get eaten by a giant squid. Really fun book for younger readers.

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LibraryThing member krau0098

This is a cute little graphic novel/book. It is definitely intended for younger children and does a good job of teaching while it tells a fun story. This would probably be a good book for any reluctant readers out there. It is aimed a bit more at boys than girls, but either should enjoy it.

Danny is

a dragon who can't breathe fire and who has a bit of trouble getting his homework done. Danny and his pal Wendell, contact Danny's cousin Edward the seaserpent for some help on Danny's paper about the ocean. They then go on a fantastical journey through the sea while managing to still get the homework done on time.

There were a lot of things I liked about this book. It is very funny and the drawings are super cute. The graphic novel and novel parts flowed well as they switch back and forth. The writing it easy to read and kids will be able to easily relate to Danny and his family. My favorite thing about this book is how much science it teaches without being blatant about. Kids really will learn a lot about the ocean and ocean creatures when they read this.

I personally also liked the inclusion of fantasy creatures (dragons, sea monsters) with non-fantasy facts. Although I wondered if this meshing of make-believe and factual information might be a bit confusing for some kids...like they may not realize all the info about the ocean is actually real and not made up. I was also a little concerned that Danny got away with being so naughty and not doing his homework himself.

Overall though this was a fun and cute read; full of adventure and humor. I would recommend this to younger children, but even young adults and adults will think it is a quick, fun read. I will definitely be checking out more Dragonbreath books in the future.

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LibraryThing member megjwal

Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon
Danny Dragonbreath is the only mystical creature in his school for reptiles and amphibians. He can’t breathe fire or do other things like most of the other students. However, because of his unique family he gets to go place the other students can’t like underwater

in the ocean. Instead of doing reading research his sea-serpent cousin takes him on the trip of a lifetime in the underwater wonders of the ocean.
I think this is a great story about how your family can be great even if they are a little strange. It also is a good book to talk about how to deal with bullies in school.
I would use this story with third through fifth graders. We can discuss how our families and friends are so different from each other. We can also discuss how that difference can make us have some great life experiences.

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LibraryThing member abbylibrarian

A cute and funny start to a series that I would hand to fans of Babymouse and/or Squish. It's a step up as far as containing more straight text, but there are comic sections throughout to ease the reading load a little bit. This series has been popular at my library since we purchased it.

LibraryThing member JWarren42

Vernon's art is okay, but the few times she creates an image out of negative space are mindblowingly good. The story is alright, but I really like her use of food humor--the problem is I became much more interested in the plight of the potato salad than in the main character. Cute, and has moments

of really inspired art, but overall just okay.

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LibraryThing member Mothwing

I bought this because I like Ursula Vernon's drawing style and thought this might be fun to have in our class library for my ESL students. While the drewings did not disappoint I'm not sure that my ESL students will understand the language well enough for them to be Finisheding this book, and the

ones who do might find this a bit too juvenile. The ones old enough to have past the mortal coolness threshold would benefit from trickier stuff, so I am not sure what to do with this apart from giving it to my wife, who adores all dragons.

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LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill

Danny (the only dragon at school) doesn't do his report on the ocean quite the way the teacher intended so he has to redo it. He goes to the Saragaso Sea with his best friend Wendell (an iguana) to visit his cousin the sea serpent. The boys have an amazing adventure. Danny wants to see, meet and go

every where unlike Wendell who gets a little bit nervous. There are illustrations and comic panels interspersed through the text.

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LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill

every where unlike Wendell who gets a little bit nervous. There are illustrations and comic panels interspersed through the text.

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LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill

every where unlike Wendell who gets a little bit nervous. There are illustrations and comic panels interspersed through the text.

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LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill

every where unlike Wendell who gets a little bit nervous. There are illustrations and comic panels interspersed through the text.

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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey

Eh. I like Ursula Vernon's quirky worldview, but I don't enjoy Danny nearly as much as I do Harriet. It's possible that he reminds me too much of me, in a not very enjoyable part of my life - it's not aimed at my current age. The undersea trip is rather contrived, at several levels - why and where

they go and the adventures they have. Not bad but I'm not inspired to seek out more Dragonbreath books.

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LibraryThing member Fence

Danny Dragonbreath is having trouble with the whole Dragonbreath aspect of his name, in other words he hasn't yet managed to breath fire. Keep thinking hot thoughts, think about fire, his father tells him, but that isn't much use when the school bully is teasing you about your very existence.

Dragons being mythical beings and all.
Added to that is the fact that you just got an F because you made up your facts for your essay on the ocean and it makes for a not great day.

Luckily Danny's mother suggests that he contact his cousin, who just happens to be a sea serpent, and that way he can learn all about the ocean. It is where cousin Edward lives after all.

I may be biased, in that I am a big Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher fan, but I thought that this book was just great. It is a kids book, middle-grade (whatever that means to us non-USians) level, so it isn't as dark and haunting as some of Vernon's other work. What it is though is great fun. Danny and his best friend, iguana Wendell, have adventures under the ocean and even learn a bit about deep-sea life in all its weirdness. Plus they learn a little about how to hold off a school bully.

And awesome artwork. Highly recommended when you need something light and easy to read.

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LibraryThing member jennybeast

School story featuring a dragon who can't breath fire (yet) and his somewhat cautious best friend iguana. Good fun.

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