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Cate Shepherd, Author of the Award-winning memoir Emotional Orphans, and I have been posting a lot of material for Dragon Camp on our main blog. This location that you are viewing now has limited content.

So after reading this the re-posting of the story summary below, check out Dragoncamp.info which is updated weekly.

Max (foreground) has overcome his own challenges as a young dragon. With the support of understanding mentors, he has learned to control his fire breathing and to best utilize his talents. But does he have what it takes to be a Counselor for other troubled dragons at the notorious Dragon Camp?
Dragon Camp Story © 2014 by Cate Shepherd, Illustrations © 2014 by Doug Jennings. All rights reserved.

Raif's Story

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His probation officer hopes that Dragon Camp will give the troubled teen dragon a chance…and it would most-likely be his last.

To see the entire illustration and additional content for this post, go to www.dragoncamp.info Dragon Camp Story (c) 2014 by Cate Shepherd Illustrations (c) 2014 by O. Douglas Jennings All rights reserved.

Phil's Story

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Phil is a loner, a daydreamy dragon who seems to wear a cloak of invisibility, disappears from class and slips through the cracks.

To see the entire illustration for this post, go to www.dragoncamp.info Dragon Camp Story (c) 2014 by Cate Shepherd Illustrations (c) 2014 by O. Douglas Jennings All rights reserved.

Nate's Story

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Nate is an energetic, aggressive boy dragon with a short fuse who was sent to camp for getting into fights at dragon school.

To see the entire illustration for this post, go to www.dragoncamp.info Dragon Camp Story (c) 2014 by Cate Shepherd Illustrations (c) 2014 by O. Douglas Jennings All rights reserved.

Molly's story

☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁ ☁
Molly is a shy, sensitive girl dragon who is afraid of almost everything, especially school, and prefers to hide out at home with her mom.

To see the entire illustration for this post, go to www.dragoncamp.info Dragon Camp Story (c) 2014 by Cate Shepherd Illustrations (c) 2014 by O. Douglas Jennings All rights reserved.

Dr. Cate's Baby Dragons

"I've always had a soft spot for juvenile delinquents, especially for those who were labeled "beyond help."

But I was never that great with young children. It just didn't seem to be my gift.

So, imagine my surprise, when a charming parade of youngsters came to me for help with school behavior.

"His teacher says he needs medication. Her school counselor says she has Bipolar Disorder.

The nurse says he has ADHD."

Hmm."

Read more about Dr. Cate's experiences that inspired her to write Dragon Camp.

Dragon Camp story © 2014 Cate Shepherd

Art © 2014 by O. Douglas Jennings

Sketch Leads to Inspiration

In the Spring of 1980, Doug drew this
portrait of Cate, who was busy drawing her
own portrait of a small flower in
the Indiana woods.

Sammie's Story

Sammie: a wild, impulsive little dragon who was sent to camp after she ripped off her clothes, ran around the school yard naked, and tried to jump off the roof! (Shown here during a food fight).

To see the entire illustration for this post, go to www.dragoncamp.info Dragon Camp Story (c) 2014 by Cate Shepherd Illustrations (c) 2014 by O. Douglas Jennings All rights reserved.

Expanding The Story with More Characters

Early in the development of the Dragon Camp project, Author Cate Shepherd and Illustrator Doug Jennings discussed ways to depict a variety of characters besides Max who would be attending Dragon Camp. In a fun collaboration, Doug made drawings of four unique baby dragons. "I just wanted to show each little dragon had its own distinct personality."

To see the entire text and illustration for this post, go to www.dragoncamp.info Dragon Camp Story (c) 2014 by Cate Shepherd Illustrations (c) 2014 by O. Douglas Jennings All rights reserved.

Max's Bubble, part 2: Practical Steps

Dr. Sear went to visit Max's parents and teachers. She explained how Max needed some help with making a bubble around him to shield his sensitive scales from stress. And how he needed challenging projects to work on when he was all done with his regular work.

To see Max the entire illustration for this post, go to www.dragoncamp.info Dragon Camp Story (c) 2014 by Cate Shepherd Illustrations (c) 2014 by O. Douglas Jennings All rights reserved.

Max's Bubble: Creating a Safe Place

Dr. Sear helped Max understand how his needs were different from some of the more regular dragons. Every day, Max needed some time in his private bubble to relax and de-stress from all the noise and stimulation of the dragon classroom. To see Max enjoying some space, go to www.dragoncamp.info Dragon Camp Story (c) 2014 by Cate Shepherd Illustrations (c) 2014 by O. Douglas Jennings All rights reserved.

Max's Desk Fire Incident

One day Max became very frustrated in dragon school.  Before he knew what had happened, he was in the red zone. Lizard brain took over, sparks flew from his baby dragon nostrils, and his desk caught fire.

After that incident, Max's teacher sent him to a dragon doctor for behavior modification and dragon drugs.

But Dr. Sear was was no ordinary dragon doctor. She showed Max the dragon thermometer, and taught him all kinds of tricks for keeping his cool at school.

Dragon Camp Story © 2014 by Cate Shepherd, Illustrations © 2014 by Doug Jennings. All rights reserved.

A not-so-regular dragon

Cate Shepherd, Author of the Award-winning memoir Emotional Orphans, announces the soon-to-be published Young Adult fiction story Dragon Camp.

Max is a highly sensory, creative, intelligent young dragon who can easily become either bored or overstimulated in a regular dragon class. When bored, sometimes he gets into mischief to entertain himself. And when overstimulated, his dragon systems can heat up quickly.
Dragon Camp Story © 2014 by Cate Shepherd, Illustrations © 2014 by Doug Jennings. All rights reserved.

Meet Max the Baby Dragon!

Cate Shepherd, Author of the Award-winning memoir Emotional Orphans, announces the soon-to-be published Young Adult fiction story Dragon Camp.

In collaborating with Cate on the Dragon Camp book  (before it was titled Dragon Camp) we (artist Doug and author Cate) initially focused on a baby dragon named Max based on a composite of young patients from Cate's experience as a psychotherapist.
Dragon Camp Story © 2014 by Cate Shepherd, Illustrations © 2014 by Doug Jennings. All rights reserved.

Dragon Camp Character Development Sketches

Cate Shepherd, Author of the Award-winning memoir Emotional Orphans, announces the soon-to-be published Young Adult fiction story Dragon Camp.

Max (foreground) has overcome his own challenges as a young dragon. With the support of understanding mentors, he has learned to control his fire breathing and to best utilize his talents. But does he have what it takes to be a Counselor for other troubled dragons at the notorious Dragon Camp?

Dragon Camp Story © 2014 by Cate Shepherd, Illustrations © 2014 by Doug Jennings. All rights reserved.

New Young Adult Novel

Cate Shepherd, Author of the Award-winning memoir Emotional Orphans, announces the soon-to-be published Young Adult fiction story Dragon Camp.

Max has overcome his own challenges as a young dragon. With the support of understanding mentors, he has learned to control his fire breathing and to best utilize his talents. But does he have what it takes to be a Counselor for other troubled dragons at the notorious Dragon Camp?

Visit this blog for regular behind-scenes-updates and pre-production Dragon Camp  art by illustrator Doug Jennings.