Dragons are intriguing beast for children to read about.  They embody mystery and magic.  Dragons can be seen in many types of literature.  They come alive in fantasy and folklore.  They are also a componet of the Chinese culture.  Dragons can easily be connected and compared  to dinosaurs and reptiles.  The amount of literature about dragons seems almost endless.  The following books were chosen to illustrate many different types of book formats, genres, and kinds of dragons.    

The Discovery of Dragons is a fun book about a “scientist” who is trying to prove that dragons exist.  He uses letters from three explores that tell silly stories of their explorations that lead to sightings of multiple dragons.  The illustrations are beautiful full color paintings of the dragons.  Base also adds a picture strip at the bottom of the pages to show the exploits of the explorers. 

 The Knight and the Dragon
de Paola, Tomie.  The Knight and the Dragon.  New York:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons.  1980.

A knight and a dragon plan to meet for battle, only neither knight nor dragon has ever fought.  After studying and practicing, they meet to create a silly and fun ending.  The pictures tell most of the story since the text is limited.  The cartoon like illustrations complements the fun story. 

The Paper Bag Princess
Munsch, Robert N.  The Paper Bag Princess.  Toronto:  Firefly Books LTD, 1985.  Illustrated by Michael Martchenko.

A dragon destroys Princess Elizabeth’s castle, and it carries off her husband-to-be, Prince Ronald.  She sets off to get him back dressed only in a paper bag since the dragon ruined everything else.  She tricks the dragon into exhaustion, and is able to save Prince Ronald.  That is until he tells her how disappointed he is with her appearance, and Princess Elizabeth finds she is better off without him.

The Paper Dragon
Davol, Marguerite W.  The Paper Dragon.  New York:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers.  1997.  Illustrated by Robert Sabuda.

Mi Fei, a humble, Chinese artist, sets off to save his village from a dragon that awoke after one hundred years.  Mi Fei uses his beloved paintings to find a way to complete three tasks from the Dragon.  The illustrations are done with cut paper and feature a fold out panel to create pictures that span three pages.    

The Last Dragon
Nunes, Susan Miho Miho. The Last Dragon.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995.  Illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet.

Peter Chang is spending the summer with his aunt in China Town.  He finds an old silk and wood dragon, big enough for ten men to carry, in a shop.  He takes it home, and over the summer Peter tries to restore the dragon.  He gets help from people who live all over China Town.  

Saint George and the Dragon
Hodges, Margaret.  Saint George and the Dragon.  Boston:  Little, Brown and Company, 1984.  Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman.

This book retells the legend of George the Red Cross Knight, who will later be named St. George the patron saint of England.  He goes with the Princess Una to save her kingdom from a horrible dragon.  After three days a battle, George defeats the mighty dragon, and he marries the princess.  This book won the Caldecott Medal in 1985.  The beautiful illustrations and text are framed by more wonderful pictures.

The Dragon’s Pearl
Lawson, Julie.  The Dragon’s Pearl.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993.  Illustrated by Paul Morin.

This folklore comes from the Chinese culture where dragons are benevolent creatures.  Xiao Sheng lives a life of hardships with his mother.  One day everything changes when he finds a Dragon’s Pearl that bring them good fortune which they gladly share with other.  The peal also changes Xiao Sheng’s life in a much different way when it turns him into a dragon.   

Novels

Fantasy

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher
Coville, Bruce.  Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher.  San Diego:  Harcourt Brace& Company, 1991.  Illustrated by Gary A. Lippincott.

Jeremy Thatcher buys an egg from a mysterious magic shop.  It is a dragon egg that Jeremy hatches.  He learns how hard it is to raise a dragon, and then he learns that it is harder to let it go.  

Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon
Gannett, Ruth Stiles.  Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon.  New York:  Random House, 1998.  Illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett.

This book puts together three stories:  My Father’s Dragon, Elmer and the Dragon, and The Dragon on Blueland.  My Father’s Dragon was a Newberry Honor Book, and it starts the trilogy.  Elmer Elevator and a baby dragon named Boris go on three adventures together.  

Backyard Dragon
Sterman, Betsy and Samuel Sterman.  Backyard Dragon.  New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993.  Illustrated by David Wenzel.

Owen from New Jersey finds a dragon in his backyard.  Wyrdryn is a Welsh dragon from the fifteenth Century.  He has been banished from his home by a wizard.  Owen has to find a way to help Wyrdryn return home.  

The Hobbit
Tolkien, J.R.R.  The Hobbit.  New York:  Ballantine Books, 1937.

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit.  He gets involved in a great quest to help a group of dwarves to get their treasure back from a dragon named Smaug.

Dealing with Dragons
Wrede, Patricia C.  Dealing with Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles Book One.  San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1990.

In the first book of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, the Princess Cimorene does not like all the aspects connected to being a conventional princess.   She decides to run away to become a dragon’s princess.  The dragon, Kazul, take her in, and after that she meets interesting people and deals with problematic wizards.

Searching for Dragons
Wrede, Patricia C.  Searching for Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles Book Two.  San Diego:  Harcourt Brace & Company, 1991.

The second book of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles introduces Mandanbar, the King of the Enchanted Forest.  He meets Cimorene when he goes to talk to Kazul, the new Dragon King, about a problem in his forest.  Kazul is missing so the two set out to find her.  They discover that the wizards are up to no good again.

Calling on Dragons
Wrede, Patricia C.  Calling on Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles Book Three.  San Diego:  Harcourt Brace & Company, 1993.
 

The wizards are causing more problems in book three of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, when they steel Mandanbar’s magic sword that belong in the Enchanted Forest.  Cimorene, Kazul, and some friends set out to get the sword back.  

Talking to Dragons
Wrede, Patricia C.  Talking to Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles Book Four.  San Diego:  Harcourt Brace & Company, 1985.

In the final book of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Cimorene instructs her sixteen-year-old son, Daystar, to go on a quest into the Enchanted Forest.  She gives him a sword, and he has no idea the he will be rescuing his father, the Sleeping King, for the wizards.  

April and the Dragon Lady
Namioka, Lensey.  April and the Dragon Lady.  San Diego:  Harcourt, 1994.

April is a Chinese-American teenager.  She struggles with the different cultural background in her life.  She also has an odd relationship with her Grandmother, “the Dragon Lady.”  When her grandmother gets sick, it falls on April’s shoulder to take care of her, even though the grandmother gives all her affection to April’s brother.  

Poetry

The Dragons are Singing Tonight
Prelutsky, Jack.  The Dragons are Singing Tonight.  New York:  Greenwillow Books, 1993.  Illustrated by Peter Sis.

He is one of the modern masters of poetry.  This is a collection of poems written by Jack Prelutsky about dragons.  He depicts many types of dragons from fierce to silly.  The illustrations go wonderfully with the poems.

Here There Be Dragons
Yolen, Jane.  Here There Be Dragons.  San Diego:  Harcourt Brace & Company, 1993.  Illustrated by David Wilgus.

This is a collection of poetry and stories all about dragons written by Jane Yolen.  The collection contains stories and poems about dragons from many different cultures.  Some of the stories and poems are serious and scary while others are silly.

Dinosaurs
Cooper, John.  Dinosaurs.  New York:  The Salariya Book Company, 2001.  Illustrated by Mark Bergin and Carolyn Scrace.

This is an informational book about dinosaurs.  It has great pictures and illustrations including “x-ray pages” where you hold the special page up to a light to see what is inside the dinosaur.  Dinosaurs can be connected to dragons in many ways.

Reptile
McCarthy, Colin.  Reptile.  London:  Dorling Kindersey, 1991.

This is a wonderful Eyewitness Book about Reptiles.  It has a lot of information about different types of reptiles.  The color photographs are wonderful.  It is a great book that can be used to compare reptiles and dragons.  

 

Biography

Dragon Bones and Dinosaur Eggs: A Photobiography of Explorer Roy Chapman Andrews
Bausum, Ann.  Dragon Bones and Dinosaur Eggs: A Photobiography of Explorer Roy Chapman Andrews.  Washington D.C.:  National Geographic Society, 2000.

Even though Roy Chapman Andrews did not find any real dragon bones, he did lead many explorations into the Gobi Dessert in Mongolia.  He believed there were dinosaur fossils there, which they did discover.  His team also discovered a new species of dinosaur called the Protoceratops andrewsi.

Dragon Links

Here are some interesting links to sites about dragons that are great for kids.

Dragons From Ancient China

The Metal Dragon

Urban Dragons

Silver Dragon Breath