What I wanted to make note of a couple of "new" (to me at least)
picture books featuring one of my favorite topics: dragons. Of
course, looking at the dates on these, you'll realize that "new to
me" doesn't necessarily correspond with currency of publication date,
but that's neither here nor there--well, it's actually more a then
not now. . . .
The Dragon Snatcher by M. P. Robertson. Published by The Penguin
Group's Dial Books for Young Readers in 2005, this beautifully
illustrated book features a young boy named George who, unlike at
least one of his predecessors, is out to <i>save</i> dragons--not
slay them. Hearing a noise in the chicken coop one night, George
investigates to find a worried dragon who whisks him off to a cold,
bleak castle. Inside the castle George finds shelf after shelf on
neatly labeled dragon eggs--and overhears an old wizard whose plan is
to "rid the land of these cursed creatures" once he finds just one
more egg. Does George stop the wizard from stealing the last dragon
egg? Can anything melt the wizards ice-cold heart? Read and see.
The Dragon Machine by Helen Ward, illustrated by Wayne Anderson.
Published by Dutton Children's books in 2003, this is a very
different story about a boy who always went ignored and overlooked,
just like the dragons he starts to notice. Dragons are
<i>everywhere</i>, but noone ever seems to notice them, just like
they never seem to notice George--until they start to become
troublesome. Needing some advice, George goes to his local library,
where he learns, much too late, that one should never feed the
dragons or let them into our home. But the book also offers hope
that these dragons might not end up captured--if only he can show
them the way to their own home--the place where they belonged. And
so, George builds the dragon machine. Part of the fun of this story
is discovering the dragons along with George--at first glance, the
unobservant reader might just miss seeing these heretofore unnoticed
creatures. Are the dragons discovered and captured? Do the dragons
follow George as he attempts to take them to the safety of their own
home? Does George ever get noticed? Read this whimsically
illustrated story and see.
For the complete blog entry, check out the blog at: http://
thebookdragon.blogspot.com/
Ronda Y. Foust
School Media Specialist--newly graduated!
readingdragon@comcast.net
Oak Ridge, TN
http://thebookdragon.blogspot.com/
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