The Dragons Are Singing Tonight

This is a rhyming book with great intricate illustrations of dragons. This could lead into an inquiry of where dragons come from and why do people love to talk about them? I want to know what my students like or dislike about dragons? Each poem has a dragon theme, but they are all on different

topics. Jack Prelutsky has written so many wonderful poems, yet I had never read this. Most students adore his rhyme and enjoy hearing them read aloud. After the students read the book I may have them lift one poem to that speaks to them and talk with others about why that one appealed to them over the other ones. If they chose, they could read them aloud with partners or in pairs.

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LibraryThing member Warnerp

ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice, and Horn Book Fanfare.

LibraryThing member Stockel

This book of poetry could be use for fantasy.
The “If You Don’t Believe in Dragons”, poem really gives a twist on this idea- that if we can believe we can do anything, we will have success.
Ages 1st grade to 3rd. Dragon/Castles/Fantasy week theme.

LibraryThing member annabelle5585

Children will love Jack Prelutsky's light and humurous poetry in this collection of works entitled, "The Dragons Are Singing Tonight", about dragon themed tales. Prelutsky takes you on an adventure in the mind of a young child and his dragon that will have each reader giggling and creating their

own adventures with a dragon. Prelutsky utilizes iambic tetrameter, a specific rhyming scheme where the last words of the second and fourth lines will rhyme. One example is his poem entitled, "If You Don't Believe in Dragons", that goes as follows: "If you don't believe in dragons, it is curiously true, that the dragons you disparage, choose to not believe in you."

These silly poems will encourage students to tap into their creativity while using the iambic tetrameter rhyming style. Children can have so much fun using their imaginations and creating their own wacky poems.

I really enjoyed the simple and funny dragon-themed poetry of Prelutsky. He writes lighthearted poems that put a smile on your face. It would be easy for anyone to become interested in poetry after lines like, "My dragon wasn't feeling good, he had a nasty chill, and couldn't keep from shivering, I saw that he was ill. His eyes were red and watery, his nose was running too, his flame was but a fizzle, and his cheeks were pallid blue." Hopefully his sing-song poetry inspires many children to create their own dragon poem.

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LibraryThing member jthuro1

This is a beautiful book from every angle. Amazing illustrations bring the heart felt and imaginative poems to life. The poems express various subtle and explicit emotions, concepts, and ideas. Poems such as "I Am My Master's Dragon" about a dragon who wishes to fly free but does not want to show

his master disloyalty, strikes an emotional chord with anyone who has ever had to balance commitment with conflicting desires. Children will love the poem, "Nasty Little Dragonsong" about a nasty little dragon who is a half of an inch tall, and ,despite his cloudy disposition, usually goes unnoticed. An underlying theme of wonder and nostalgia pervades this book.

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LibraryThing member rdg301library

This book is a collection of poems centered on the theme of dragons. The poems describe different things that dragons do, but each poem seems to hold a similar writing style.

Reading Level: Primary to Intermediate
Genre: Poetry

LibraryThing member amulve2

I had mixed feelings about the story of short poems “The Dragons Are Singing Tonight”. One aspect I had mixed feelings about was the writing. Each poem in the story was about a different type of dragon or how a child did or did not believe in dragons. The one poem I liked was about not

believing in dragons. “If you don’t believe in dragons, it is curiously true that the dragons you disparage choose to not believe in you.” The writing flowed together well but I do not think little children would understand what the word disparage meant. I think some of the wording is too complicated for young children. One aspect that I liked was the illustrations. They took up the entire page and gave the readers a sense of the different types of dragons that there are. The big idea of this story is to be creative and have a good sense of imagination.

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LibraryThing member GRgenius

Begun and done. A wonderful little collection of clever rhyming prose that will delight the kiddos, while still enchanting adults with its witty wordy wonders. Hard pressed to pick a favorite, but I have to say, the imagery combined the poem itself of IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN DRAGONS, definitely had

me smiling.

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LibraryThing member LibrarianRyan

This collection of children’s poem from Jack Perlutsky is centered around dragons. Most of the poems are happy or funny, a few heartfelt, but all are lovely. They are all set off by great illustrations by peter sis. This book may be old but it can and will stand the test of time.

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