Three Tales of My Father's Dragon, Ruth Stiles Gannet

Three Tales of My Father's Dragon (50th anniversary hardcover edition)
Ruth Stiles Gannet, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannet
ISBN: 0679887116
Re-Read: December 30, 2013 - January 3, 2014.

Juv: illustrated trio of stories about Elmer Elevator and his adventures with Boris the blue-and-yellow striped baby dragon.  The first was written and illustrated as a family project, and published in 1948 to instant acclaim.

I remember these so fondly from childhood.  The tangerines, the sticks of chewing gum, the very carefully crafted lists of everything from knapsack provisions to hidden treasure contents.  And of course the elderly stray cat, the baby dragon, and Elmer himself, totally willing to rise to any occasion as long as he's had a bit of time to think through a plan.

The first story is the classic, the one most people will remember, where Elmer ventures to Wild Island and braves everything from boars to rhinos to crocodiles with wit, chewing gum, toothpaste, and lollipops, on his mission to rescue a mistreated baby dragon who is chained to a river crossing.

The second story chronicles Elmer and the Baby Dragon's journey to bring Elmer back home in time for his father's birthday, with their stopover at the Island of Escaped Canaries, where King Can the XI, and all the other canaries,  are dying (albeit very slowly) of curiousity because the King won't tell his deep family secret about a long-hidden treasure.

Third story has Boris (the baby dragon now has a name) returning home to the Blueland Mountains after schlepping Elmer back home.  Unfortunately, Boris arrives just in time to see his whole family (all 15 of them: 6 sisters, 7 brothers, and parents) besieged inside their cave home, trapped by a group of explorers determined to capture them and sell them off to zoos.  Back to Elmer for assistance, and the two children sneakily and cleverly defeat the bad guys, leaving no one the wiser.

Delightful memories, delightful stories, and the illustrations are just quirky and sweet enough to fit perfectly.