Looking For a Good Book

This is precisely the sort of book I would have bought when my children were younger. Dragon’s are a great fantasy creature, providing plenty of imagination fodder for young readers. This book not only offers a series of short, fantasy adventures, but it provides a bit of history as well.  It’s always fun when a child can learn something without realizing they’re learning.

Author Theresa Breslin tells ten short stories, each from a different region (China, Scotland, Egypt, Poland, Mexico, Scandinavia, Russia, Greece, Japan, India). In addition to the story itself, there’s a very brief explanation of how the dragon fits into the regions’ cultures.

No book like this would work well without art. Here, artist Kate Leiper illustrates each of the stories with some lovely, soft work reminiscent of Tomie de Paola. Each dragon is uniquely depicted, helping to clarify their different origins.

I can picture myself reading these stories to my children and how each child might take inspiration for the stories. But this is one of those unique picture books – there’s almost not quite enough art per page to entertain the youngest children, and a lot of depth to the stories, challenging the older, reading-abled children. I still have plenty of these types of books on my shelves, but that would not prevent me from buying one such as this.

Children will likely enjoy a story a night at bedtime, and along with the history of the dragon myth, nicely prepared in just a couple of paragraphs, there’s plenty of opportunity to talk with children about the myths and how and why they came to be.

Looking for a good book? An Illustrated treasury of Dragon Tales by Theresa Breslin and illustrated by  Kate Leiper is definitely enjoyable and definitely encouraged for parents looking for a new book to share with their children.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

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An Illustrated Treasury of Dragon Tales: Stories from Around the World

author: Theresa Breslin

artist: Kate Leiper

publisher: Floris Books

ISBN: 9781782509103

hardcover, 168 pages