The Dragon's Scales

by Sarah Albee, John Manders (Illustrator)

When a hot-tempered dragon seizes the local bridge, the people of Berryville are cut off from their supply of beloved strawberries until they can correctly answer three questions related to weight. The grownups of the town are stumped, but one very smart little girl saves the day with some facts she learned in school.

Genres: Mathematics, Fantasy, Childrens, Picture Books, Dragons, Fiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

Reviews

[Cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer reads with the kids. Cute book about sharing.

[Mustafa Ergür · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okumaya yeni başlamış çocuklarınız için hayal güçlerini geliştirecek, onları bambaşka bir dünyaya götürecek çok güzel bir masal. Oğlumla birlikte en az üç tekrar ettiğimizi çok rahatlıkla söyleyebilirim.

Sadece bu kitabı değil, tüm Okumayı Seviyorum Dizisi kitaplarını gönül rahatlığıyla edinebilirsiniz.

[Kim Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Holly of Berrytown comes up with a terrific plan to save her small town from the dragon who will not let them cross the bridge to gather berries. A great book for introducing weight to small children.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! Faith is into numbers, measuring and weighing right now. This book does a great job of explaining mass and weight to a small child:)

[Zoë · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dragon's Scales is a book about a town that is terrorized by a dragon. When someone challenges the dragon to a contest, it takes mathematical knowledge of measurements and weights to defeat him.

This book is "A Math Reader", but far from boring. It modeled mathematical reasoning in a way that children could understand and use, while also keeping the story engaging. I'd use this in the classroom clear up to high school since the reasoning incorporates physics and can be adjusted to deeper content as academic levels increase.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute book! I loved reading it to my son. He loved the Dragon and the many pictures. This book is about a community that is bringing back their harvest and encounters a Dragon. The Dragon won't let them pass until one little girl challenged him. If she wins the village passes without giving up their harvest, if she looses then the Dragon gets it all.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be really good for talking about friendship, sequencing, and getting along.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book. Friendship, math, competition.

[C.M. Lee]

Very cute story.

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disagree

The dragon is the real loser, and I don't think he should stay. The dragon is not very good at knowing things.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.

[Ruby Ridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got it for my little girl - neither of us regret it, both of us recommend it.

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a "Step 3" book meaning it has engaging characters, easy-to-follow plots, and popular topics. It asks if your child is comfortable tackling new words and does your child like to read on their own. If so, this book is recommended. It also says it's for grades 1-3. My 5-year-old loved this book.

As a parent, I liked that it had opportunities for kids to think. For example, the dragon and a little girl each answered the question, ""Which weighs more, one apple or two peas?" The dragon said, "Everyone knows that two things weigh more than one thing, so two peas weigh more than one apple."
The girl said, "Two things don't always weigh more than one thing. What matters is how heavy the things are. I know that an apple is heavier than two peas." They put both items on the scale and saw that the apple weighed more than the peas.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun story about comparative weight measures using a scale. The story is entertaining and educates without being boring or overly didactic. The illustrations are colorful and would appeal to any dragon fan. Our girls enjoyed the story, but thought the dragon was rather dull for not knowing the obvious answers. It's a good book for beginning readers and would be useful to read to a class who is just starting to learn about comparative weights. We've read this book a couple of times.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son loved this book as I did. It is an easy reader for about 1st-2nd graders and teaches about the importance of learning, kindness, and some math smarts as well. It is about a girl, a teacher, and a dragon, so my 4 year old girl liked it as well.

[Rochelle Sondae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always liked this book because it's about a dragon. Today was the first time I actually read it though. The supporting character, Holly, is pretty clever outsmarting such a fine dragon. She is also very kind to allow the poor dragon to redeem itself in the end.

[Meg McGregor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful story that incorporates math into almost all of its pages.

A little girl and a dragon have a contest seeing which objects weigh more. A fun story that children will want to read over and over again.

Read again on June 21, 2014.

[Lela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is great for teaching weight.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and with a simple math lesson.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

longer words and sentences; simple math lesson; engaging story; wonderful illustrations

themes: berries, dragons, math, smart girls, weights

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, and challenging for young minds in science and math!

[Susan Cronk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good 👍

I like the story.☺ I liked the pictures. I learned about weighing things. Berrytown worse name for town ever. (Owen - Age 8)

[abe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read to baby

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holly beats a dragon at guessing what weighs more. The dragon stays and shares the berries with townspeople.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story that shows things aren’t always as they appear.

[Engrossed Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

We liked The Dragon's Scales by Sarah Albee. Fun engaging and educational. What more could you ask for. Thanks London online library system