60. Dragon's Fat Cat

60. Dragon's Fat Cat (Dragon #2) Dav Pilkey. 2019. (1992) Scholastic. 64 pages. [Source: Review copy] [5 stars, early chapter book, animal fantasy]

First sentence: One snowy day in January, Dragon heard a funny noise. "Meow!" "That sounds like a cat," said Dragon.

Premise/plot: Dragon makes a new friend in this early chapter book by Dav Pilkey. That friend is, you guessed it, a cat, a FAT, GRAY CAT. There are five chapters in this one:

• "Meow!" 
• Life With Cat
• Problems
• Left Behind
• Home Again

In the first chapter, Dragon meets a fat, gray cat and invites him inside.

In the second chapter, Dragon takes the cat inside and names him, "Cat." Dragon prepares a special bed for his new friend/pet. (The Cat takes Dragon's bed.)

In the third chapter, readers learn just how much Dragon does NOT know about owning a cat.
(Dragon does NOT know that his cat needs a litter box, for example.) He eventually finds himself at a pet store.

In the fourth chapter, Dragon realizes that he left Cat behind at the pet store. He must find and "rescue" Cat. When he finds Cat, he finds a big surprise! The reason why Cat was so FAT...

In the fifth chapter, Dragon returns home with Cat and her kittens. He starts preparing beds for all the little ones--he's named each one KITTY. Will Cat and kittens sleep in their beds?! Or will they still have ownership of Dragon's big bed?!

My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved, loved, CRAZY-LOVED this one. I enjoyed the writing very much. It was funny.

Dragon liked living with Cat,
and Cat liked living with Dragon.
But Dragon did not know
how to take care of Cat.
He did not know how to train Cat.
That was a problem.
Dragon did not know what to feed Cat.
That was a big problem.
And Dragon did not know what to do
about all the yellow puddles Cat made.
That was a smelly problem.

 I think this one will hold great appeal for young readers. I first read and reviewed this one in 2009. It has been newly republished this year.   


© 2026 Becky Laney of Young Readers

110. A Christmas Sonata

110. A Christmas Sonata. Gary Paulsen. Illustrated by Leslie Bowman. 1992. 80 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars][Christmas, historical, family drama]

First sentence: It comes on everybody at a certain time in their life not to believe in Santa Claus.

Premise/plot: This is a short novella for children presumably though probably not best appreciated by children. A boy and his mother travel to spend Christmas with relatives in Minnesota. His cousin is dying and this will be his last Christmas. His father is away fighting in the Second World War. He's decided that Santa is NOT real. And his cousin is also unsure if Santa is real. Both are skeptical but a tiny bit hopeful. Will he believe in Santa or not?

My thoughts: This was a strange read. On the bright side it was a very short read. I think it might work better as a Christmas special or movie. This is a bittersweet story though perhaps kids may not pick up on that as much as adults? Or maybe they would. I'm glad I read it, but, I can't imagine rereading it.


© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

91. Dragon's Fat Cat

Dragon's Fat Cat (Dragon #2) Dav Pilkey. 2019. (1992) Scholastic. 64 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: One snowy day in January, Dragon heard a funny noise. "Meow!" "That sounds like a cat," said Dragon.

Premise/plot: Dragon makes a new friend in this early chapter book by Dav Pilkey. That friend is, you guessed it, a cat, a FAT, GRAY CAT. There are five chapters in this one:

• "Meow!" 
• Life With Cat
• Problems
• Left Behind
• Home Again

In the first chapter, Dragon meets a fat, gray cat and invites him inside.

In the second chapter, Dragon takes the cat inside and names him, "Cat." Dragon prepares a special bed for his new friend/pet. (The Cat takes Dragon's bed.)

In the third chapter, readers learn just how much Dragon does NOT know about owning a cat.
(Dragon does NOT know that his cat needs a litter box, for example.) He eventually finds himself at a pet store.

In the fourth chapter, Dragon realizes that he left Cat behind at the pet store. He must find and "rescue" Cat. When he finds Cat, he finds a big surprise! The reason why Cat was so FAT...

In the fifth chapter, Dragon returns home with Cat and her kittens. He starts preparing beds for all the little ones--he's named each one KITTY. Will Cat and kittens sleep in their beds?! Or will they still have ownership of Dragon's big bed?!

My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved, loved, CRAZY-LOVED this one. I enjoyed the writing very much. It was funny.

Dragon liked living with Cat,
and Cat liked living with Dragon.
But Dragon did not know
how to take care of Cat.
He did not know how to train Cat.
That was a problem.
Dragon did not know what to feed Cat.
That was a big problem.
And Dragon did not know what to do
about all the yellow puddles Cat made.
That was a smelly problem.

 I think this one will hold great appeal for young readers. I first read and reviewed this one in 2009. It has been newly republished this year.   

© 2020 Becky Laney of Young Readers

81. Farmer Duck

Farmer Duck. Martin Waddell. Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. 1992. 33 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: There was once a duck who had the bad luck to live with a lazy old farmer. The duck did the work. The farmer stayed all day in bed. The duck fetched the cow from the field. "How goes the work?" called the farmer. The duck answered, "Quack!"

Premise/plot: The farmer in this story is lazy, fat, and selfish. Duck, our hero, is a hard worker whose work and dedication is appreciated by the animals--if not the farmer himself. The animals may just have a plan to rid the duck of an overseer who can only bellow HOW GOES THE WORK from afar.

My thoughts: It is the refrain HOW GOES THE WORK? QUACK! that has stuck with me through the years. Some picture books (some stories) are just super quotable--to one degree or another--and become part of our lives. (Like, "We ate our honey. We ate a lot, and now there is no honey in our honey pot." Or "It looked like pink ink.") I loved revisiting this one.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 10 out of 10 

© 2020 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Dragon's Fat Cat

Dragon's Fat Cat (Dragon #2) Dav Pilkey. 2019. (1992) Scholastic. 64 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: One snowy day in January, Dragon heard a funny noise. "Meow!" "That sounds like a cat," said Dragon.

Premise/plot: Dragon makes a new friend in this early chapter book by Dav Pilkey. That friend is, you guessed it, a cat, a FAT, GRAY CAT. There are five chapters in this one:

• "Meow!" 
• Life With Cat
• Problems
• Left Behind
• Home Again

In the first chapter, Dragon meets a fat, gray cat and invites him inside.

In the second chapter, Dragon takes the cat inside and names him, "Cat." Dragon prepares a special bed for his new friend/pet. (The Cat takes Dragon's bed.)

In the third chapter, readers learn just how much Dragon does NOT know about owning a cat.
(Dragon does NOT know that his cat needs a litter box, for example.) He eventually finds himself at a pet store.

In the fourth chapter, Dragon realizes that he left Cat behind at the pet store. He must find and "rescue" Cat. When he finds Cat, he finds a big surprise! The reason why Cat was so FAT...

In the fifth chapter, Dragon returns home with Cat and her kittens. He starts preparing beds for all the little ones--he's named each one KITTY. Will Cat and kittens sleep in their beds?! Or will they still have ownership of Dragon's big bed?!

My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved, loved, CRAZY-LOVED this one. I enjoyed the writing very much. It was funny.

Dragon liked living with Cat,
and Cat liked living with Dragon.
But Dragon did not know
how to take care of Cat.
He did not know how to train Cat.
That was a problem.
Dragon did not know what to feed Cat.
That was a big problem.
And Dragon did not know what to do
about all the yellow puddles Cat made.
That was a smelly problem.

 I think this one will hold great appeal for young readers. I first read and reviewed this one in 2009. It has been newly republished this year. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Dragon's Fat Cat

Pilkey, Dav. 1992. Dragon's Fat Cat. Scholastic.

I love Dragon. I love his fat cat, "Cat." Everything about this one is perfect. And I do mean everything. Dragon's Fat Cat is a story revealed in five little chapters. The story is simple, one winter's day, Dragon hears a strange sound--a sound that turns out to be a meow. A meow coming from a very fat cat sitting outside his door. While the cat is resistant at first to coming inside, Dragon soon takes matters into his own hands. Now this stray cat is stray no more--Dragon gives him a perfectly lovely name, "Cat." But while in many ways Dragon is happy to have Cat in his life, there are new problems to be dealt with:

Dragon liked living with Cat,
and Cat liked living with Dragon.
But Dragon did not know
how to take care of Cat.
He did not know how to train Cat.
That was a problem.
Dragon did not know what to feed Cat.
That was a big problem.
And Dragon did not know what to do
about all the yellow puddles Cat made.
That was a smelly problem.

Will Dragon figure out how to train Cat? How to take care of him? And just why is Cat so fat anyway?!

I loved this one. As in I read it over and over and over and over and over again. It's an appealing little book that I just adored.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers