My Father's Dragon is the 1st book in the My Father's Dragon Series.

On Wild Island a group of lazy animals had captured a baby dragon and put him to work. This little dragon could fly, so they used him to ferry them across the river. He didn't like it. So went the tale that Elmer Elevator ("my father") heard from his friend, the cat, long ago. Being a kind-hearted boy, Elmer set out to rescue the dragon. With the advice of the cat, he made elaborate preparations for his secret journey, but he never dreamed what adventures were to befall him once he set foot on Wild Island. How he outwitted the lions, tigers, wild boars and other animals and freed the dragon makes an appealing and delightfully humorous tale.