Total Pageviews

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Dragons?! Written and illustrated by Lila Prap. Firefly Books, 2019. $16.95 ages 7 and up

"Our mom is always
finding strange books.
The last one said we are
descended from dinosaurs.

As a descendant of dinosaurs
you seem to hatch even
weirder creatures!

Who would have thought
that we have cousins that
can bite elephants?"

In this playful book about those creatures that will have interested readers begging to be the first to borrow it, said readers will find much to make them chuckle while also learning historical hype about these mythical monsters. And they will be loving what the book has to say.

Luckily, we have a a chicken, a rooster, and their brood of chicks to guide us through the pages of this book that is both entertaining and strikingly illustrated. Their opinions are shared, and questions asked in speech bubbles on every page. They provide comic relief throughout - a much appreciated respite amidst the many fearsome dragon tales.

 A statement is made at the top of each spread, accompanied by an intriguing composite image of a continually evolving dragon. Along the bottom, information is provided concerning the mythology that surrounds the term 'dragon'. From Mesopotamia to Greece, from Jason and Medea tricking a dragon into self-imploding to villagers who believed that dragons gushed water (and baby dragons) out of the ground, from Europe to Russia, stories abound.

"Killing a dragon with many heads was almost impossible.
If you didn't chop off all its heads at once, new ones would
immediately grow back."

"Vikings called their stories sagas. One saga describes Kraken,
a sea monster feared by all sailors. The Kraken was so big that
when its head was sticking out of the sea, many travelers
mistook it for an island."

All around the world, people told stories of battles, mysteries, ferocious creatures, gods, and forces of nature. Dragons are at the heart of many of them. As well, readers are reminded that Chinese dragons are worshipped as gods for their goodwill and insight.

"Most often, dragons are depicted playing with a pearl, which signifies wisdom, eternal life, strength and the moon.

No comments:

Post a Comment