Puff, the magic dragon / Peter Yarrow, Lenny Lipton ; with paintings by Eric Puybaret.
Record details
- ISBN: 1402747829
- ISBN: 9781402747823
- ISBN: 1454901144
- ISBN: 9781454901143
- ISBN: 1402747829
- ISBN: 9781402747823
- ISBN: 1402752792 (lib. bdg.)
- ISBN: 9781402752797 (lib. bdg.)
- ISBN: 1454901144
- ISBN: 9781454901143
- ISBN: 9781402772160
- Physical Description: 1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill. ; 28 cm. + 1 sound disc (4 3/4 in.)
- Publisher: New York : Sterling Pub., 2007.
Content descriptions
General Note: | "Includes a four-song CD recorded by Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul &Mary) with Bethany & Rufus"--Cover. |
Summary, etc.: | The adventures of a boy and his dragon friend are recounted in this classic song from the 1960s. |
Target Audience Note: | K-3 Follett Library Resources 3.9 Follett Library Resources |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Children's songs, English > United States > Texts. Dragons > Songs and music. Songs. |
Genre: | Picture books for children. |
Available copies
- 33 of 36 copies available at Bibliomation. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Beacon Falls Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 36 total copies.
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beacon Falls Public Library | E YAR (Text) | 3312000024946E | Picture Book | Available | - |
BookList Review
Puff, the Magic Dragon
Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
This sentimental song, made popular by the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, receives slick but appealing treatment with Puybaret's acrylic-on-linen illustrations. Puff is a slender-necked, benevolent dragon that follows his special friend, Jackie Paper, like an affectionate pup across a smoothly painted fantasy landscape. Those who recall the bittersweetness of Jackie's departure will be happy to know that the book's images continue where the lyrics leave off: the older Jackie leaves for the real world, but his young daughter takes his place as Puff's best buddy. There's a fair amount of nostalgia in the packaging of this story-song, from the notes by authors Yarrow and Lipton to the sweet facial expressions of, well, everyone even the pirates on ships that lower their flags when Puff roared out his name. Actually, it's hard to imagine Puff roaring at anyone. A CD of Yarrow accompanied by his own daughter features renditions of the title song as well as Froggy Went a-Courting and Jimmy Crack Corn.--Del Negro, Janice Copyright 2007 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Puff, the Magic Dragon
School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
PreS-Gr 2-The lyrics from the ubiquitous 1960s song finally finds a hardcover home in a book by its creators. As pictured by Puybaret in his lush, stylized artwork rendered in acrylic on linen, the soulful dragon and Jackie Paper cavort across the island of Honalee meeting kings and pirates, and boating, climbing, and playing. After his young friend grows older and leaves, Puff languishes until a young girl (observed clandestinely and benignly by a grown-up Jackie Paper) joins him to initiate friendship again. The full spreads feature sweeping panoramas set against the blues and greens of ocean and island with small details revealed throughout. Fans of the song will be the book's primary audience. A four-song CD by Yarrow and his daughter with the title song, an instrumental version of it, "The Blue Tail Fly," and "Froggie Went A-Courtin'" is included.-Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Puff, the Magic Dragon
Kirkus Reviews
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
A lovely--and indeed magical--shift and the beloved anthem becomes quite a satisfying read-aloud for children (and adults). Co-author Lipton says he had no idea that there was a Hanalei Bay with a lava cave just the right size for a dragon, but that's where Puff lives in Honalee. And though Jackie Paper grows up too much to stay with Puff, in the final images he brings his daughter to frolic with the dragon. Puybaret's acrylic-on-linen paintings have smooth edges, elongated shapes and rich matte colors as well as Bosch-ian touches: On Honalee there are peopleflies instead of dragonflies; the dolphins sport mortarboards and gondolier T-shirts; the deeply non-ferocious pirate captain has a hook and an eye patch all the same. A CD with four songs, two of them versions of "Puff," makes a very nice package indeed, especially since Yarrow sings with his daughter. (Picture book and CD. 4-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Publishers Weekly Review
Puff, the Magic Dragon
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
This handsome volume offers a charming interpretation of the 1960s folk song, written by Yarrow and Lipton and famously recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary. Featuring a soothing palette highlighted by greens and blues, Puybaret's graceful acrylic on linen paintings are intermittently misty and sunny. Echoing the gentle cadence of the song, the sweeping landscapes and seascapes reveal Honalee to be a magical place indeed, with faces appearing on trees, flowers and rocks. Other whimsical flourishes include the book's affable ancillary characters, including diminutive winged fairies and red-and-white striped dolphin-like critters that wear graduation caps. There is, of course, the inevitable somber moment when "One gray night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more,/ And Puff, that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar"; the dragon gazes wistfully upon the departing boy and then slips sadly into his cave. But at the creative hand of Puybaret, a French illustrator who here makes his American publishing debut, the song's potentially sad denouement takes an uplifting turn. As the chorus is repeated one final time, the delighted Puff spies a girl approaching-ostensibly Jackie's daughter-a new friend to frolic with in the autumn mist. Youngsters concerned about the fate of Puff's first playmate will be comforted to see a smiling, grown-up Jackie looking on. Adding to the appeal of the book is a CD presenting a new recording of the song (and two others), sung by Yarrow and his daughter Bethany, accompanied by cellist Rufus Cappadocia. An impressive performance all around. Ages 3-7. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
New York Times Review
Puff, the Magic Dragon
New York Times
October 27, 2009
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company
BACK in the 1960s, when I was a teenager, I was always melancholic after hearing the last verse of Peter, Paul and Mary's "Puff, the Magic Drag-on," released in 1963. I still feel a gnawing pit in my stomach when Peter Yarrow sings, "A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys," and reaches a crescendo with "One gray night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more / And Puff, that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar." One of the many anthems of the hippie era, the song presaged the end of innocence, when youth culture bummers like the Altamont festival and the Manson family murders, in 1969, marred our peace-and-love illusions. It also reminded me that my hair wouldn't be long forever (genes) and that I couldn't wear bell-bottoms and beads in perpetuity (style). Ultimately, I'd become an adult with a job, family and responsibilities; with advanced age I'd doubtless become too cynical to succumb to the wiles of magic dragons. Nonetheless, decades later, the song's slightly depressing overtones didn't stop me from playing it for my own son, now 18 years old, who as it turned out was not as interested in Puff as I was. This might have been a generational hiccup, since kids rarely show interest in what their parents like, but if this new book version of "Puff, the Magic Dragon," beautifully illustrated by Eric Puybaret and smartly designed by Lauren Rille and Scott Piehl, had been available when my son was small, we might have better experienced the song together. More than 40 years after "Puff," composed by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton, was released, this volume (with a CD that includes two versions of "Puff" performed by Yarrow; his daughter, Bethany; and Rufus Cappadocia) brings the land of Honalee to new life. With the exception of one updated lyric - "but not so little boys" now goes "but not so girls and boys" - the text is a verbatim transcription of the original, with one or two verses appearing per spread. The pastel-colored paintings that fill these spreads are replete with elegantly rendered details of the Honalee landscape, including mountains and palm trees, towers and fantastical small animals and pixies. Although this is not exactly the landscape I used to imagine (for some reason my Honalee was more urban), Puybaret's interpretative tableau does justice to the lyrics, and especially Puff himself. A dragon, after all, can be a horrifying creature, but Puff's physique, rendered as if combining a verdant hill with the head of a large doe-eyed sea horse, reveals a variety of emotions. I, for one, feel the pain when in the book "Puff, that mighty dragon, sadly slipped into his cave." The only graphic flaw is Jackie Paper, who is rendered somewhat stiffly, with a bland, conventionally boyish face. Nonetheless, speaking of stereotypes, the illustrations reject any hint of a '60s psychedelic style, showing that "Puff, the Magic Dragon" can be, despite its place in hippie history, a timeless coming-of-age song for all ages. The '60s are often portrayed now as a permissive, hedonistic moment when sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll reigned supreme. Though all that is true, they were also an incredibly volatile period when youth culture challenged politics and society in ways that continue to exert influence. The decade was more than a mere freak show of baby-boomer rebels. It was a time when young people acted positively, as individuals and en masse, to redress a slew of grievances. So it's about time that today's kids were introduced to the period in a manner that is not simply a reprise of camp clichés. "America Dreaming," by Laban Carrick Hill, is a good start - an accessible historical account that smartly begins with the simmering postwar '50s and explains the civil rights movement and various social rebellions that followed. Most useful for young readers, it examines the emergence of activist movements that fought for causes like the environment and gay, Native American and women's rights. Hill, the author of "Harlem Stomp!," employs popular culture as glue that binds the many shifts in manners and mores. He reports on how communes sprang up to foster a new way of life, and how new advocacy groups spoke out for the poor and disenfranchised. He might have said more about how mass marketeers co-opted alternative subcultures - how, for example, the folk music scene, with its protest songs, was turned into a vehicle for profitable hit records. But in a wry description of the Summer of Love in 1967, he writes, "There were so many media people that a running joke started about bead-wearing Life magazine reporters interviewing bead-wearing Look magazine reporters because there were more of them than real hippies." Hill balances the ideals of the period with some of the more negative influences, but mostly he celebrates the rise of consciousness-raising movements and their impact on future generations. About the beginnings of modern feminism during the anti-Vietnam War movement, for example, he writes: "While the men in the organizations dealt with the 'real' issues, the women were relegated to 'women's work.' As they looked around and shared their experiences with each other, they realized their lives were not changing." Despite layouts that too ham-fistedly interpret the graphic style of the times (an overload of fluorescent colors and psychedelic typefaces), "America Dreaming" is an excellent textbook for the children and, probably, grandchildren of baby boomers who want to know what the youth culture of the time was all about. For anyone who lived through Beatlernania, as I did, it's difficult to think of John and George as gone and Paul and Ringo as old. Through their music and fashion, they changed the way we looked at the world. Kids still love the Beatles' music; my son has their entire catalog captured like a genie in his iPod, and the cover of the "Revolver" LP (signed by the artist, Klaus Voorman) hanging on his bedroom wall. There are countless books about the Beatles, of course, but "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!," by Bob Spitz, may be the first biographical history specifically aimed at teenagers. Spitz, the author of adult biographies of the Beatles and Bob Dylan, does a good job of bringing the Beatles era to life. But there is a problem: the book design. Where "American Dreaming" leans too much toward pastiche, "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" is much too nondescript. That it is printed entirely in black and white removes the, well, color from this extremely vibrant period. The documentary style of the layout is fitting, but here is where a more lively typographic composition would have added life to the Beatles experience. Instead, the book has a musty feeling that belies everything the Beatles contributed to pop culture. Steven Heller, co-chairman of the M.F.A. Designer as Author department of the School of Visual Arts, writes the Visuals column for the Book Review.