Ten-year-old Danny Branahan, son of a Montana rancher, is bereft when his father is sent to Iraq and killed. In denial, Danny imagines the horse his father gave him is a dragon that can bring his father home. Financial strain forces Danny, his mother, and 16-year-old sister to move to Denver, where he meets an Iraqi classmate whose losses are far greater and, in time, healing.

Danny’s Dragon: A Story of Wartime Loss

Janet Muirhead Hill
Raven Publishing, Inc. (2006)
ISBN 0977252507
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (11/06)


When Danny’s father is killed in Iraq he faces the different stages of grief.  His family must give up their home in Montana because of financial strain.  They must find a way to build a new life for themselves. Danny lives for the memories of his father; they bring both pleasure and pain. Danny’s imagination turns his horse named Dragon into a real dragon.  Guilt consumes Danny, because his father returned to active duty so that he could buy the horse for Danny.  He blames himself for his father’s death because he wanted a horse.

Danny’s mother seeks help for him through therapy, but he refuses to share his grief with anyone. 

It is an honor to not only review this book but also highly recommend it.  This book belongs in every household.  Children do not understand death and grief.  They do not know how to handle it; neither do adults so how can we expect our children to cope with something that we struggle with.  Ms. Muirhead is very intuitive and an inspiration to us all. I commend Ms. Muirhead for offering us a book on this topic.  While it is something we don’t want to face, death is a fact of life and we should be prepared so that we can help our children through it.

This book is well written.  The story flows smoothly.  The characters are endearing.  Their lives are too real for comfort.  Danny, Mindee and Mom are true to life.  The illustrations add to the story line and are well done.  The cover made me want to delve inside.