“My Father’s Dragon”

Cast and Crew

Based on the book by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Adapted by Karen Simpson

Directed by Holly Smolik
Video Editing by Theo Gardiner
Stage Manager: Josh Gefkin
Producer: Barbie Koch

Cast:

About the Story

Our show, “My Father’s Dragon” is based on the book by Ruth Stiles Gannett. If you haven’t read the book before, you can read it online by clicking here!

Our play is an adaptation of that story.  An adaptation is a new version of an another story. In our case, we adapted My Father’s Dragon into a script for the show you’re watching today. We had to make the story work in the way that we can present it – in this case, with all of our actors performing at their homes rather than on a stage.

My Father’s Dragon was first published in 1948.

It is the first in a series of books. The other books in the series are Elmer and the Dragon and The Dragons of Blueland.

This book was a Newbery Honor book in 1949. The John Newbery Medal is an award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) to the author of “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.” It is named for an 18th Century British bookseller, and the ALSC has been giving these awards since 1922. Each year they select one book as the best children’s book of the year, and five books as “honor” books.  The winner in 1949 was a book called King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian by Marguerite Henry.

The Newbery Awards for 2020 have already been announced. The winning book is New Kid by Jerry Craft, a graphic novel for Middle School grades that has also won the Coretta Scott King Author Award, and Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature.

In 1997, My Father’s Dragon was adapted into a Japanese Anime film called Elmer’s Adventure: My Father’s Dragon. A new animated adaptation is also currently scheduled to be released on Netflix in 2021.

We all watch many adaptations, and often don’t know the source for the show or film we are watching. And the adaptation often ends up being very different from the book or story it is based on! Did you know that:

• Frozen is an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen (although they two ended up being very different!)
• The Princess and the Frog is an adaptation of The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker, which is an adaptation of The Frog Prince by the Brother’s Grimm
• The recent live-action film and Broadway Musical Beauty and the Beast were based on the animated film Beauty and the Beast  which was based on a fairy tale.
• The 2015 animated film Home was adapted from the book The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex.

Can you think of other books and stories that have been adapted to films or plays?

If you liked "My Father's Dragon"

There are so many wonderful books to read just like it! Here’s a list of other books you might like, put together by our media partner Hicklebee’s Bookstore.

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

Lighthouse Family: The Storm by Cynthia Rylant

The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg

The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish by Neil Gaiman

Kenny and the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi

The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

The Unicorn in the Barn by Jacqueline Ogburn

Librarians can help you identify the books on this list that suit your age, tastes, and reading ability. If you want to purchase books, you can help support us by buying at Hicklebee’s and mentioning PYT. The San Jose bookstore is a media sponsor of Stories on Stage.

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