Puff, the Magic Dragon

By Caroline Petherbridge — Creative Director of Sparkle Education

Caroline Petherbridge enters the land called Honalee to teach children that everyone has to grow up one day with some Puff, the Magic Dragon activities

It is hard not to feel a lump in your throat when reading Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton’s enchanting storybook Puff, the Magic Dragon (Macmillan Children’s Books, ISBN 1402747829). This is the charming story of a dragon who is the childhood companion of Jackie Paper, a little boy who lives his days doing as he pleases – ‘frolicking in the autumn mist’ – and forming memories that will remain with him for the rest of his life. But what will become of Puff, the magic dragon, once it is time for Jackie Paper to grow up?

Talking points

Before you share the book with your class, play them the song from the CD inserted into the book’s back cover. Once the song has been heard, ask the children to picture the land of Honalee in their minds. If this place is where Jackie Paper chooses to spend all his time, it must be the place of childhood dreams. What do the children imagine it will look like? Ask them to picture Puff – is he a fearsome dragon with sharp scales and terrible claws, or is he a friendly-looking dragon that they would want to stroke? What are the children’s views on Jackie? Is he a strong, big-built boy who is rather a daredevil, or is he small and brave?

Introducing the book

Once the children have explored their imaginations about the setting and the characters, introduce them to the book. While reading it, highlight the elements of friendship that are shown. How does Jackie show his love for Puff? Is it by bringing him presents and ‘other fancy stuff’? How does Puff show his love for Jackie? Is it by letting him ride on his ‘gigantic tail’? Encourage the children to draw on elements from Eric Puybaret’s illustrations, to indicate the close relationship of the boy and the dragon. Discuss the reasons why Jackie leaves Puff towards the end of the book. Why do the children think he stops visiting his friend? What do they think he is doing instead? Might the grown man in the final page of the book actually be Jackie? Explore the illustrations at the end of the book. After listening to the CD, it may come as a surprise to discover that the story doesn’t have a sad ending. Ask the children to describe what is happening in those last pictures. Has Puff found a new friend to play with?

It is hard not to feel a lump in your throat when reading Puff, the Magic Dragon

Strings and sealing wax

Think about the ‘toys’ that Jackie brings Puff to play with – ‘strings and sealing wax’. Both these items begin with the same sound, which makes them sound good together. Ask the children to think about some of the toys and games that they play with. Can they put these things into pairs that start with the same sound, such as ‘bats and balls’ or ‘teddies and trains’?

Fancy stuff

Look at the illustration of the bag of things that Jackie brings to Puff. There is a treasure chest in there, perhaps full of ‘fancy stuff’. Ask the children to draw their own treasure chests and fill them with special items that all begin with the same digraph. A ‘gl’ treasure chest, for instance, might contain glitter, gloves, glue, glass and a globe.

Springtime Honalee

Look carefully at the illustrations of Honalee and remind the children that the story takes place during autumn. Can they spot any signs of this season in the pictures? Ask the children to work on a picture of Honalee during spring, summer or winter. Let them choose which season they would like to depict, but first discuss as a class what colours and materials each season may require. Springtime Honalee, for example, could be pink, white and yellow with blossom and flowers, and the children may like to use scrunched-up tissue paper to add to the effect. Try using chalks to achieve the textured look seen in the book. Take a piece of chalk and rub it onto a piece of paper to create chalk dust. Then, use a tissue to pick up the dust and wipe it onto the picture to achieve a colourful, dusty effect.

Pretending to be Puff

Organise the class into groups of approximately six children. Explain that you would like each group to become Puff, the magic dragon. Using their whole bodies and working as a team, the children need to become Puff’s torso, wings, tail, neck and head. Invite each group to show the rest of the class how they have formed their dragon. Move on from here to experiment with movement. Talk about how the groups can make their dragon forms move, without losing contact with one another. Ask the children to try representing flapping wings, an opening and closing mouth, or a tail swaying from side to side.

Jackie Paper came no more

As Jackie grows up he stops going to visit Puff. Explore the idea of growing up and moving on, and what this means in terms of the things we leave behind. Ask each child to bring in something from home that they used to love, but now feel as if they have grown out of or no longer need. Look at these objects as a whole class and discuss why the children think they have moved on from them. Is it all to do with age, or do the things we enjoy change according to our circumstances or who our friends are? Do the children think this will continue to happen as they get older? Are there things they love now that they might grow out of in the future?