This story was a very silly one that children ages 4 to 8 would love. The characters were described very descriptively through the words and the illustrations. The illustrations were very eye-catching as I continued to lay my eyes on them throughout the reading. The story was written in third person. The story was also written using creative words, “ Seth stoked the fires,” or “Lovie, you best get busy making Jum Jills.” As a reader, I really enjoyed this book and I would allow my students to read it in their free time in class. Being it does not have a lesson, I would not assign them to read it. ( )

What fun it was to read this creative and delightfully silly book. The Graves family pack the spiders, venus fly trap and friends and head for Lake Bleakmere. Having great fun collecting rare specimens, the Grave's family take a break to eat some of Mamma Grave's famous Jum Jills.
When a huge dragon approaches and eats all the treats, demanding more, fearful of their lives, the Graves family find that the dragon blocked all exits.

Finding a steam boat, they head down the river to home. Followed close behind, Dr. Graves has a plan. The nasty dragon eats more Jum Jills, breathes and kaboom, the town has the largest display of light and fireworks ever known.

When the dragon, now known as Barbara learns to eat only one treat, he becomes part of the family. ( )

The highly unconventional Graves family - mad-scientist father Dr. Doug Graves, extremely innovative cook Shalleaux Graves, Venus fly-trap nanny Phoebe, young Hieronymus Graves (nicknamed Ronnie) and his two friends, Seth and Sara Miller, and the four toddlers - head to Lake Bleakmire for a camping trip in this sequel to their eponymous first adventure, The Graves Family. Here they encounter astonishing (and rather creepy) new species of spiders and toads, and, when Mrs. Graves' special treats, known as Jum Jills, are left out one night, a most unexpectedly un-extinct dragon! With a Jum Jill-obsessed fire-breather blocking their exit from the Lake Bleakmire valley, will the Graves ever get back to Union City...?

I enjoyed this second adventure with the Graves family, whose hilarious hi-jinks display the humorous, lighthearted side of Patricia Polacco's storytelling. These books are much more in the vein of madcap tales like The Bee Tree, than more historical stories like The Butterfly, or outright tearjerkers like The Lemonade Club, and while I admit that I prefer the latter, I do appreciate the sense of fun in the former. Polacco's creative naming here - Pitfall Bridge, Longbowel Cave - was particularly appealing. ( )

Summary: The Graves family is a little crazy, but this camping trip is extraordinary, even for them. When Dr. and Mrs. Graves take the family to their secret hidden lake, they encounter a fire breathing dragon that eats all their food and follows them home.

Critique: This book is a great example of fantasy because a family could never find a fire breathing dragon! That being said, there are still believable aspects of the story as many families go on annual camping trips. Plot: This book is a good example of the typical linear plot as the story follows the usual exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution pattern.

Media: pencil and watercolor

The Graves family decides to go on their annual camping trip to Lake Bleakmire, where Dr. Graves finds new scientific discoveries. The family packs up and goes to the lake, where they explore the land for new creatures. They discover a giant footprint and think that it is the print of an extinct dragon, only to find out that the creature is still alive! The dragon steals Jum Jills, the Graves family's secret recipe, and follows the family back home. After swallowing a new contraption of Dr. Graves', the dragon breaths out a spectacular fireworks show for the Fourth of July.