Ruth Stiles Gannett
Recognized in the Creative Minds Montessori 2026 Teacher’s Choice list.
Ruth Stiles Gannett is one of roughly one hundred authors whose work was selected by the Montessori-certified teachers at Creative Minds Montessori for the 2026 Teacher’s Choice list — 120 books chosen across four reading stages, from first lap-reads to first chapter books. The selected book was chosen for how precisely it meets children at a real developmental moment. This recognition cannot be bought: no author or publisher paid to appear on our lists, and we take no commission on any book sale.
About Ruth Stiles Gannett
Ruth Stiles Gannett (1923–2024) wrote My Father's Dragon at 25 while snowed in one winter, with her stepmother illustrating; the 1948 Newbery Honor classic has never left print and remains many families' first chapter book.
Gannett wrote it with no plan to publish — she typed it for fun between jobs — and spent most of her long life not as a famous author but raising seven daughters, pleasantly surprised the dragon kept flying.
Also by this author: Elmer and the Dragon · The Dragons of Blueland
Official legacy site: myfathersdragon.org
Selected for the 2026 Teacher’s Choice list
Part of The Best Children’s Books by Age, chosen by the teachers at Creative Minds Montessori in Frisco, TX.