What Goes Up

Overview

A high-flying adventure with one determined dragon! Martin the dragon is sad. He longs to fly, but his wings are just too small. He tries flying like a bumblebee, a leaf, & a cloud. But..CRASH! It's no use. This beautifully illustrated picture book shows the power of practice, imagination, & most of all believing in oneself! Ages 3-7

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781589251199
Publisher:	Tiger Tales
Publication date:	03/01/2013
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

Editorial Reviews

Martin the dragon longs to fly but his wings are too small. "What goes up, must come down," he sighs, no matter what he tries. The local children decide to try to help him. They encourage him to ride a tricycle along with them and flap his wings. One day he loses control and sails off the top of a cliff and into the sky. To his surprise, his wings have grown larger and stronger, and instead of going down he goes up, to the cheers of the children. Lighthearted watercolors and some black ink drawings produce the youngsters and occasional props, like a tiny bumblebee or a mass of dandelion fluff. But most of the images are of the friendly, chubby green dragon, initially with ineffectual wings. Bowles produces a series of appealing, humorous postures, like the despondent Martin flatly exhausted across the double page. This contrasts with the proud dragon with large, multicolor wings taking off, finally triumphant into the blue. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

PreS-Gr 1—Martin is a sad dragon situated at the base of an extremely steep hill. His friends, children from the village, are concerned for his well-being and enquire about his unhappiness. Flapping his small wings, he sighs, "What goes up, must come down." Because of his undersized wings and very large body, Martin is unable to fly. Suddenly inspired by a buzzing bee, he paints stripes on his body in a misguided attempt at flight. He later tries sitting in a tree to replicate a falling leaf and, later still, he mimics a fluffy cloud by rolling in dandelion fluff and leaping. Unsurprisingly, nothing works. Then, the children run, and Martin cruises around them on a tricycle while flapping his wings and thinking lofty thoughts. They repeat this activity daily, increasing wing size and strength. One day, they make it to the top of the hill, and Martin loses control, hurtling over a cliff. His now-strong and lovely wings carry him over the cheering crowd. The watercolor-and-ink illustrations capture the dragon's emotional plight well. Readers will enjoy this positive story of hard work and friendship.—Laura Hunter, Mount Laurel Library, NJ

School Library Journal

It takes a village of curious children to cheer up a sad dragon. Three children find Martin, a big green dragon with drooping yellow wings, at the bottom of a hill one day. He longs to fly, but he explains that his wings are too small. Just then, a bumblebee buzzes by. Martin figures that stripes must be the key to flying, so he paints himself some sloppy stripes and leaps into the air. Luckily, the children are there to help him when he takes a fall. Martin notices the floating leaves and tries perching in a tree...until the law of gravity intervenes. The same unhappy result occurs when he tries to wrap himself in dandelion fluff in order to behave like a cloud. Martin is at his lowest point ever, but the children come up with an idea: "You just have to believe." Inexplicably (if sensibly) modeling exercise rather than sheer faith, they run and flap their arms, sometimes holding colorful leaves, and Martin follows. Day after day they practice, and Martin's wings become stronger and stronger. (He rides a tricycle to go faster.) His wings become big and beautiful, and one day, he goes up but doesn't come down. He can fly with a little help from his friends. Bowles' visual message is strong, but it's too bad she relies on bromides in her prose. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews