Dragon Books, part I (A)
These are some great fiction dragon books with quickie reviews. Part A deals mainly with oversized picture-book editions. Although these are usually found in the children's book section, many of them are well worth having for the artwork alone, and the stories are often much more mature and interesting than one might expect from a children's book. Go to Part B for good dragon fiction that is printed in tinier type.
The author's name is listed first, then the illustrator (if any), the title, and finally, any comments. The information should be enough for you to find them in your local library or bookstore.
Fiction Titles
- Anderson, Wayne (illustrated by author). Dragon. A children's book, very cute, about a very interesting little baby looking for a mom. Aramis loves it.
- Baumgarten, Klaus (illustrated by author). Anna and the Little Green Dragon; Where are you, Little Green Dragon? More cute stuff, about a little girl and the interesting viewpoint of her tiny dragon friend.
- Bertrand, Lynne. Illustrated by McNally, Bruce. One Day, Two Dragons. This is a counting book featuring two dragons on their way to the doctor's office.
- Caen, Herb. Illustrated by Byfield, Barbara Ninde. The Cable Car and the Dragon. If you like Dragons, Cable Cars, San Francisco, or all of the above, you need to check this one out.
- Cherry, Lynne (illustrated by the author). The Dragon and the Unicorn. This one is absolutely beautiful.
- de Paola, Tomie (illustrated by the author). The Dragon and the Knight. This is adorable, besides being one of the the best arguments yet for cooperation rather than competition between humans and dragons!
- Enderle, Judith Ross and Tessler, Stephen Gordon. Illustrated by Gray, Les. The Good-for-Something Dragon. Read this to your dragon if he's feeling down.
- Graham, Kenneth. The Reluctant Dragon This is the story that started it all--the first "friendly dragon" tale of modern times. It has held up well over the years.
- Koller, Jackie French. Illustrated by Mitchell, Judith. The Dragonling; A Dragon in the Family; Dragon Quest; The Dragons of Krad. This series is really too deep for its easy-to-read writing style, and would do much better as young adult fantasy. Each book is dependent on the other, so I don't recommend reading just one or reading them out of order.
- Lathmore, Deborah N. (illustrated by the author). The Dragon's Robe. Some books are works of art. This is one of them.
- Leedy, Loren (illustrated by the author). The Dragon ABC Hunt. This one will help Aramis learn his letters. :)
- Masey, Mary Lou. Illustrated by Basilevsky, Helen. Branislav the Dragon: A New Tale of Old Russia This is more or less a re-do of The Reluctant Dragon, quite cute.
- Peet, Bill (illustrated by the author). How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head. Don't be alarmed--Droofus remains quite intact!! It's a good thing too, because he's awfully cute in a bedraggled sort of way. The author/illustrator is, by the way, one of the main pens behind the classic Disney cartoons.
- Peterson, Gail. Illustrated by Hildebrandt, Greg. Greg Hildebrandt's Book of Three-Dimensional Dragons. Truly beautiful to behold, but weak on good dragon information.
- Prelutsky, Jack. Illustrated by Sis, Peter. The Dragons are Singing Tonight This is a book of poems, intended for children I suppose but enjoyable at any age. Aramis loves to hear the poem "I'm an Amiable Dragon".
- Robinson, Fay. Illustrated by Lee, Victor. Where did all the Dragons Go?. Both the story and the illustrations are heartbreakingly beautiful. I cried! :'}
- Ross, David. Illustrated by Nesbit, Jan. The Serpent Shell This is not about a dragon specifically but a benevolent sea serpent. The illustrations are beautiful.
- Seabrooke, Brenda. The Dragon that Ate Summer. This is mediocre kids' stuff as far as the dragon is concerned.
- Sutcliff, Mary. Illustrated by Clark, Emma Chichester. The Minstrel and the Dragon Pup. I loved both story and illustrations, but some portions may distress very young (or very dragon-loving!) readers.
- Williams, Jay. Illustrated by Meyer, Mercer. Everyone Knows What a Dragon Looks Like. Anyone familiar with the dragon's ironic sense of humor will be able to spot him right away!
- Yep, Laurence. Illustrated by Tseng, Jean and Tseng, Mou-Sien. The City of Dragons. ANYTHING by Laurence Yep is excellent, but particularly his stories that are like this one--with charming dragons, humans, and remarkable creatures based on the legends of China.
- Yep, Laurence. Illustrated by Mak, Kam. The Dragon Prince. Adaptation of a Chinese legend, beautifully illustrated by Mak. (The prince is absolutely breathtaking--in both dragon and human form!!)
To see a list of dragon fiction for more mature audiences, click on List, Part I(B). Many of the books in Part B are suited to young but advanced readers.
To see a list of dragon non-fiction, click on List, Part II. Reading is Believing!
Click Here to go back to my main page. Make sure you visit Aramis before you leave!
If you would like to e-mail me, click on my address: dracnova@hotmail.com I would be happy to hear about any dragon books I may have missed, or talk about other great reads from some of these authors.
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