MUNGO

A lonely boy in Scotland makes friends with a brontosaurus-like creature who turns out to be ""one of the last of the old sea monsters."" The monster, Mungo, takes Richie astride his back to a rocky island inaccessible to ships where an old man has been living and caring for Mungo since he was shipwrecked as a cabin boy years before. The man, who calls himself Skipper because as sole survivor he has inherited the ship's wreckage, shows Richie the house he has constructed from driftwood and other items washed in by the sea, then builds another room for Richie and plays host to the boy all summer as Mungo provides daily transportation. Once Skipper is introduced the whole outlandish adventure becomes quite real, and though it's easily dismissible, the tidy island domicile will appeal to others like Richie.