DEXTER

by Stanley H. Silverman '34, Simon& Schuster, 1941. Unpaged. $1.50.

THIS STORY of Dexter, a dragon, is dedicated to all children who have ever been bothered by dragons, for Dexter, like the "reluctant dragon" of Walt Disney's recent picture, is a nice dragon that everyone likes, and children need no longer fear or be bothered by dragons after reading this rather pleasant tale.

The formula is familiar. Dexter comes from fire breathing parents, but Dexter, with Ferdinand the bull, is a peaceful creature and wants to play with other animals: pig, horse, lamb, etc. Naturally the parents of the animals resent Dexter as their offsprings' playmate, and Dexter has to show them not only that he is a nice dragon, but also that he can on occasion be of great help to them. How Dexter proves his worth, and lives happily ever after with his charming playmates is the substance of the tale.

The illustrations by George Daly have more originality than the story, and without them the book might not have the appeal which it now undoubtedly has. The print is, unfortunately, rather small for a child's book, but if you read aloud to your tots this would while away pleasantly several evenings. This is for children from 5 to 9 I would guess but I cannot in all honesty state that it is for children from ten to a hundred.