A boy and his pet dragon continue to have bland adventures. The controlled vocabulary and one to five lines of text per page will boost reading confidence, but the texts sound artificial ("Oh, yes Father. I like to walk and see things") and the story lines are flat. There's some humor in the shaky-looking art. National Reading Panelinspired end-of-book activities extend instruction.

HILLERT, Margaret . What's in the Pond, Dear Dragon? ISBN 9781599536071 . LC 2013010283. HILLERT, Margaret . What's in the Sky, Dear Dragon? ISBN 9781599535807 . LC 2012043566. HILLERT, Margaret . What's in the Woods, Dear Dragon? ISBN 9781599536064 . LC 2013010627. ea vol: illus. by David Schimmell. 32p. (Dear Dragon Series). Norwood . 2013. lib. ed. $21.27. ebook available. K-Gr 1 A prolific author returns with four new stories in which a child reflects on the natural world around him. The boy typically describes how his time is spent with his beloved dragon in concrete, action-driven narratives. "Dragon, Dragon, Dragon. You cannot sit all day. It is not good for you." Clear vocabulary choices and repetition support the straightforward story lines. Visual clues extend the text; in Pond, the boy gets a bandage on his knee, and the only sentence on the page reads, "This will help." At times, cartoon characters lack fluidity in their movements and expressions appear static. In each book, a concluding "Reading Reinforcement" section includes a brief overview of phonemic awareness, fluency, phonics, vocabulary, a word list, and text comprehension. Although there are no major surprises in these gentle outings, readers will gain confidence while exploring this boy's quiet adventures and his great friendship with his favorite companion. "Here I am with you, Dear Dragon and here you are with me." For those just learning to read, being "here" is indeed a good place to be. Meg Smith, Cumberland County Public Library, Fayetteville, NC