It’s St George’s day. My nephew’s birthday. I sent him birthday wishes through Facebook, and thought about his mother.
It’s also world book night. Last year I signed up as a giver, and walked the streets trying to give books away. Harder than you’d think. This year I thought about having a small baby and decided to be sensible and didn’t apply. Being sensible. There’s a first!
On twitter someone put the two idea together and asked about dragon books. I *love* dragon books. So I thought I’d write a post.
One of the first ones I remember reading is the Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley. She’s a wonderful author. There’s also Dragonhaven by her. Both YA safe, though very different. One classical fantasy, the second nearer to speculative fiction, with a much more contemporary setting and male lead character rather than female.
Then of course there are the Dragons of Pern. I much prefer the earlier books in the series, and I think my favourite two are Dragonsinger and Dragonsong, though I’ve got a soft spot for the White Dragon too. Not quite as appropriate for younger YA readers as the music based ones though, scenes of an adult nature and all that.
I’m sure I remember Tea with the black dragon as a good book, though that’s about all I remember. I’ve recently been reading the Rain wild chronicles by Robin Hobb which are her most dragony so far and excellent if you make it past the first half of dragon keeper. Book three is out very soon, I’ll be sure to let you know what I think.
Of course there’s the Hobbit with probably one of the most famous drains ever, and there’s Eustace as a dragon in voyage of the dawn treader.
I’m beginning to struggle now. I’m sure there’s some by Andre Norton, possibly co written by Mercedes Lackey, elvenblood perhaps? Oh, and how could I miss out the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik? Incredibly detailed alternate history with dragons as battle technology in Napoleon’s time.
And that’s about all I can think of right now. Have I got your favourite? Let me know in the usual place.
Two of my son’s favourite books at the moment are Too Hot To Hug by Steve Smallman and Cee Biscoe and The Trouble With Dragons by Debi Gliori (her Pure Dead.. series also has dragons). We also have an Usborne touchy-feely book called Hide and Seek Dragons which is brilliant, a bit like the ‘that’s not my…’ books, but bigger and with flaps.
My children’sfavourite when they were younger was herb the vegetarian dragon
Mr Goldfish & I like to follow the Catalan tradition, where St George’s Day is similar to Valentine’s Day but you exchange books! (Traditionally the girl get’s a rose instead of a book, but I like both so that’s okay.)
How about Rosemary Manning’s dragon stories? Old fashioned, but lovely, and with a girl heroine who gets to have a proper adventure. And Cressida Cowell’s dragons are wonderful too. Her little Toothless the whiny dragon is a character every child would be able to recognise themselves in (as would a fair few adults, me included I’m ashamed to say!)
The Anne MacCaffrey books have always been my favourite -great to hear someone else loves them too!
The oldest three of us here have all recently enjoyed the Eragon series. C’s about to start on Temeraire – she loves dragons, and she also loved Dragonborn, the first in a series of four that’s still being written, so she’s having to wait to find out what happens next. How do ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ books go down in your house?
Well the Dragonolgy books for a start! & the dragonology novels.
And for picture books, Chris Wormell’s George & the Dragon – beautiful pictures, funny little story 🙂
Terry Pratchett’s Guards Guards is a rather fun dragon story.
I like Anne McCaffrey but am always uneasy with the rapiness of the sex in the earlier books. She sorted it out quite well later in the series, though.
Zog is a favourite Dragon book in our house. x