Pup and Dragon: How to Catch an Elf

by | May 24, 2023

If your young reader is sad that they’re too old for the classic series, How to Catch a…, then this is the series for you! Author Alice Walstead has come out with this graphic novel series that follows the same fun pattern of the picture book version of these amusing titles. 

Pup and Dragon are the main characters in this new junior graphic novel series, where each book is subtitled “How to Catch a…”. In this seasonal Christmas edition, they are trying to catch an elf.

Pup can’t believe he has to teach Dragon all about Christmas. Dragon doesn’t know anything. Not who Santa Claus is, not what elves are, nothing, because dragons hibernate and sleep right through the holiday. Pup hatches a plan to attempt to catch an elf this year, as last year the kids tried and failed to do so. Hilariousness ensues as they concoct all kinds of silly plans, including an eggnog slide. Children will definitely have a good laugh as they follow along this wild tale. 

Pages are filled with popping primary colored hues, featuring simple panels with the main characters being the central focus. These child friendly drawings often have complementary colored backgrounds to highlight the dialogue that’s occurring. 

Overall, this is such a great adaptation of the very popular picture book series made into a set of books for elementary school readers. The artwork is exciting and colorful to match the pace of the silly story.

Pup and Dragon: How to Catch an Elf  
By Alice Walstead
Art by  Paul Gill
Sourcebooks, 2023
ISBN: 9781728270517

Publisher Age Rating: 6-9

NFNT Age Recommendation: Easy Readers (5-9)

  • Kendra

    Reviewer

    | She/Her

    Kendra Perkins has worked at libraries in Canada, the U.A.E., China and South Korea where she has been everything from Founding Head Librarian to volunteer. She was Ambassador of China for the International Librarians Network, and she was elected to be Coordinator for the Shanghai Librarians Network (SLN), which is a community of almost 100 library professionals from more than 20 schools. She has completed her ALA accredited Masters in Library and Information Studies program at the University of Alberta. She has traveled to over 90 countries, learned to speak basic Mandarin Chinese along the way and kept up with too many graphic novel series to keep count. She has led workshops, created webinars and done library consultations in fun places like Italy and Hong Kong. She has been a guest blogger for multiple technology and education related websites and is a published book reviewer for Urban Family magazine. Find out more at her website, which she should update more frequently: http://www.theinspiredlibrarian.com

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