My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Description: A young boy, Elmer Elevator, who runs away to Wild Island to rescue a baby dragon. The narrative mode is unusual, in that the narrator refers to the protagonist only as "my father", giving the impression that this is a true story that happened long ago. In the story, we meet some tigers, a rhinoceros, a lion, and a gorilla all leading to the baby dragon. There is also a river, an island, and a bridge.
My Thoughts: I had to cull and abbreviate the description for this book from Amazon as all the description I found just told about the various awards this book has one and how it is a classic--assuming that everyone already knows what the book is about! Well, everyone probably does know what the book is about as it is beloved by generations. But just in case you haven't read it, get onboard! It's a wonderful, sweet little story that deserves it standing as a classic.