Product Description

Welcome to Honalee, an enchanted land of imagination and love. In this special place, you can share in the playful adventures of Jackie Paper and his childhood friend, Puff, the magic dragon.

Peter Yarrow of the beloved musical group Peter, Paul and Mary and co-writer Lenny Lipton present their timeless song in an unforgettable children's book. Become lost in artist Eric Puybaret's remarkable illustrations that capture the magic of Honalee and its extraordinary inhabitants, then enjoy two vibrant new interpretations of the song plus two other tracks (Froggie Went A-Courtin' and The Blue Tail Fly ) in an exclusive CD.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20529 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 24 pages

About the Author

Peter Yarrow is best known as a singer and songwriter. He believes that music from the folk tradition can bring people together in special ways that reveal how much we truly have in common with one another – and that we can be friends, despite our differences.

Lenny Lipton, now a well-known independent filmmaker, wrote the poem which became Puff, The Magic Dragon whilst at university. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and family.

Eric Puybaret has already published more than 20 books in his native France. His dreamy, peaceful illustrations perfectly convey the charm of this much-loved story.

Customer Reviews

A charming story and a classic song
The illustrations are so charming. My reception class joined in with the chorus as I read and they loved the dragon and were pleased when he found a new play mate. They enjoyed the song so much they asked for it to be played again. They then hummed the tune during the afternoon. My colleague and I felt nostalgic as we were teenagers when the song was first released. A super book for grandparents as well as chidren.

A slightly saccharine version of the beautiful original
I loved Puff as a child. It brought tears to my eyes even remembering the song when I placed the order for this book for my four year-old son. However, I was somewhat disappointed by both the book and the CD when they arrived.

This is a large hardback book which I feel doesn't really warrant the size and space. There are 2 to 4 lines of the original song written and illustrated on each double page. Bearing in mind that there is a lot of repetition of the chorus, this makes the book seem quite barren. The emptiness is not helped by the illustrations which seem quite plain with a limited colour palate.

My main complaint is with the changes to the poem. Maybe the writer has modified it because he had a daughter and wanted to involve girls in the story. It just comes over as appalling, unnecessary political correctness. The line:
"A dragon lives forever but not so little boys"
has morphed into
"A dragon lives forever but not so little girls and boys"
It scans awfully. Listening to the CD was painful at this point.

There is also the implication in the last two drawings that a little girl comes along and befriends Puff who is then happy again. The tragedy of the song was its strength and appeal, this addition makes it quite mediocre. I don't see that all children's stories have to have a happy ending. Why was the author so terrified of letting children learn about feelings of loss and sadness in the safe, experimental world of fiction?

Aside from my disappointment with the book, my son was not overly impressed. He did start to empathise with Puff when his friend didn't come back. However, as soon as the happy ending kicked in he simply began asking which story we were having next. I can't help but wonder if the unadulterated original would have been more satisfying for him.

I've given the book 4 stars mainly because the original song was lovely. Providing I try to ignore the awkward new line and the saccharine happy ending I can still enjoy Puff. However, I feel that I am enjoying the song/poem in spite of the book rather than because of it.

Sniff
Have a hankie handy if you're coming to this book as a new(ish) parent and remember it fondly from your own childhood. Be prepared to cry hot tears of grief for lost youth and the overwhelming finality of Puff slipping sadly into his cave. But all is not lost; Little Jackie Paper lives on thro' his own daughter and her discovery of Puff (hope I'm not giving too much away - it's a short story), cleverly embellished at the end by illustration only. And the illustrations are some of the most original I've seen. The song remains hopelessly sad. Poignantly, Peter Yarrow is accompanied in this new recording by his own daughter. It all fits together perfectly. Love it to bits. All good children (and even the naughty ones) deserve a copy of this book and cd.