Horrible Harry and the Dragon War

by Suzy Kline, Frank Remkiewicz (Illustrator)

Overview

There's a war in Room 3B! Horrible Harry and Song Lee are in a fight, and nobody in Room 3B is happy. Harry and Song Lee have been best friends since kindergarten. Song Lee always laughs at Harry's jokes, they both love gross things, and they even got married on the playground in second grade. But ever since Miss Mackle let them work together on a project about dragons, Song Lee hasn't spoken to Harry! Will someone wave the white flag soon and end this war over . . . dragons?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101076811
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	12/01/2003
Series:	Horrible Harry Series
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	64
Lexile:	430L (what's this?)
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

Suzy Kline, the author of nineteen previous Horrible Harry books and four books about Song Lee, lives in Willington Connecticut with her husband, Rufus. Suzy and Rufus have been married for thirty-eight years. They met in the state where they both grew up: California. Suzy grew up in Berkeley and Rufus in Sacramento. Suzy graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in European history. She met Rufus at the Davis campus while attending that campus for a year. They got married and lived in different places, including Canada, before settling into Connecticut, the state they now call home.

Suzy taught in 5th and 6th grades at Shannon Elementary School in Richmond, California for 3 years, and 2nd and 3rd grades at Southwest Elementary School in Torrington, Connecticut for 24 years before retiring this past June. She now enjoys writing full-time and visiting schools and libraries. The couple share their home with two cats, Teeter and Hoag. They have two daughters, Jennifer and Emily, and four grandchildren: Jake, Kenna, Gabby and Saylor. A fifth grandchild is due in September, 2006. Suzy's mother just turned 96. She dedicated her most recent book, Horrible Harry Takes the Cake to her.

Suzy and Rufus enjoy attending UConn football and basketball games, and Suzy uses the UConn library as a reference for her writing facts.

 

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Kline hits the nail on the head once again by telling a real classroom story. (Kirkus Reviews)

Editorial Reviews

Gr 1-3-When Harry and his friend Song Lee disagree over a dragon assignment, their falling out affects the whole third-grade class. He insists dragons are frightening and mean, while she believes them to be friendly and lucky. A third classmate finds information that proves they are both right: dragons are fearsome in Western traditions and gentle in Eastern traditions. Harry apologizes and makes a peace offering, which Song Lee accepts. This story carries some important messages. For one, it shows that best friends can have differences of opinion, yet both can be right. Additionally, it points out the importance of respecting the beliefs of others. And, finally, it proves that friendships can be broken by name-calling, yet repaired with a sincere gesture of apology. With its likable characters, escalating tension, and pacing, Dragon War will hold the interest of young readers while deepening their understanding of themselves and others.-Laurie von Mehren, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma, OH Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Discord has come to the familiar friends in Room 3B. Miss Mackle has assigned a research project about animals from children's books. Song Lee and Harry both want to study dragons. They are allowed to work together, which usually is a good plan for these cooperative classmates. However, when Harry's dragon is the fire-breathing one of Arthurian legend, and Song Lee's is the good-luck dragon of Korean mythology, the war begins. Harry uses the "s" word (stupid) to describe Song Lee's creation. Fighting words for sure. What follows is a three-hour standoff that ends up involving all the boys and girls in 3B. The situation, reported through the voice of classmate Doug, is real and believable. Song Lee's reaction to Henry's word will spark a moment of uncomfortable recognition for any grade-school child: she completely rebuffs any apologetic overture and holds her stubborn position for three full hours, an eternity in the close quarters of a classroom. Remkiewicz's signature illustrations add life to the argument and its realistic solution. While such situations might seem trivial to the adult observer, Kline, a former schoolteacher, hits the nail on the head once again by telling a real classroom story. She allows the young protagonists to solve their problems the way they often do, with light adult intervention, good intentions, and gentle forgiveness. Kline and her publisher understand the needs of emergent readers and provide them with a large font, frequent illustrations, and a familiar story. This is another fine story for the reader who is just ready for chapter books. (Easy reader. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews

Kline hits the nail on the head once again by telling a real classroom story. (Kirkus Reviews)

From the Publisher