Children’s fantasy often includes animals and toys, emulating stories children invent with their own playthings. In My Father’s Dragon, a stray cat tells young Elmer Elevator about a baby dragon who is being forced to carry the lazy animals of Wild Island across a river. Elmer packs various supplies and runs away to rescue the dragon. He sails to the Island of Tangerina and crosses the ocean rocks to Wild Island. Once there, Elmer searches for the dragon, distracting the unfriendly animals with chewing gum, toothpaste and other supplies. The map, showing Elmer’s path on his quest, was drawn by the author’s stepmother, an illustrator of children’s books.
Map on lining papers.
Map printed on the endpapers of My father's dragon / story by Ruth Stiles Gannett ; illustrations by Ruth Chrisman Gannett. New York : Random House, 1986, c1948.
Notes (exhibitions):
Exhibited: "Literary Landscapes: Maps from Fiction" organized by the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library, 2015.
IIIF Manifest