Why Do We Like Dragons So Much?

Almost every group of people can find a dragon somewhere in their ancient myths, legends or folktales. In fact, dragons are often one of the first magical animals children associate with stories they enjoy. Here are a few dragon's and books with dragons I remember from my own childhood:

Puff the Magic Dragon
A Chinese Dragon
Leviathan
Bibliotheca
Argonautica
Beowolf
King Arthur
Jabberwocky
My Father's Dragon 
Voyage of The Dawn Treader
Smaug in The Hobbit
Earthsea Cycle Series by Ursula K. Le Guin's 
Falkor in The Never Ending Story
Norbert, Hungarian Horntail, Welsh Green, Swedish Short-snout and Chinese Fireball in The Harry Potter Series

Here are some great websites that have awesome, never ending lists of books with dragon's in them. 

Pragmatic Mom
From The Mixed Up Files...
Goodreads List
The Saffron Tree

So why dragons? Why do they fascinate us so much? Lucinda Hare in her article on the blog We Love This Book said, "Authors love dragons for the very same reasons as their readers – because they open up our imaginations. And perhaps that is the key to why dragons are such an enduring feature of children’s literature. Dragons let us hold on to the magic of childhood when other dreams are left behind. Dragons allow our imaginations to take flight. Dragons give us all wings." —See complete article here.

Here are two new middle grade books I thought you might also enjoy.

Diego's Dragon by Kevin Gerard

About The Book: An eleven-year-old Latino boy wins a district-wide writing contest for sixth graders. When an author visits his school to award his prize, Diego Ramirez has no idea how much his life is about to change.Nathan Sullivan hands Diego his statue, a handsome, glistening black dragon. He shakes his hand and leaves him to his friends. The students crowd around Diego, asking for permission to hold it.After hearing the name Magnifico spoken aloud by family and friends, Diego awards it to his new dragon. If he only knew how fitting the name was, he might have known what lay ahead. Magnifico is the leader of the Sol Dragones, dragons that live within the magical fires of the sun. Nathan Sullivan is the earth's connection to the mysterious creatures. It is his task to find Magnifico's guide.As Magnifico comes to life he becomes quite mischievous, playing tricks on Diego to embarrass him. As he discovers his bloodline, however, Diego assumes greater control over his dragon and his destiny. In the climactic journey, he frees his people and suffers a terrible loss by guiding Magnifico to their goal.

Fury of the Storm Wizard by Shauna E. Black

About The Book:  A storm is brewing in Silver Valley, where an unusual string of mining accidents has locals whispering of dark magic. When the marshal sent to investigate goes missing, his young assistant Boone turns to Jesse and Eliza for help. But Jesse is a new mage with raw magic, and Eliza is hiding a secret. The three must learn to trust each other before the valley is destroyed and they are ripped away from everything they hold dear.




What's your favorite book about dragons?

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Where The Mountain Meets The Moon

About The  Book:   In the valley of Fruitless mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life's questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family's fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer. 


First Line: Far away from here, following the Jade River, there was once a black mountain that cut into the sky like a jagged piece of metal.
One Great Line: "The village was quietly asleep and the stars filled the sky like spilled salt on dried seaweed." (27)


What Others Are Saying: "While these tales are original to Lin, many characters, settings, and themes are taken from traditional Chinese folklore. The author's writing is elegant, and her full-color illustrations are stunning. Minli's determination to help her family, as well as the grief her parents feel at her absence, is compelling and thoroughly human." - Jennifer Rothschild, Prince George's County Memorial Library System, Oxon Hill, MD


"With her "lively and impulsive spirit," Minli emerges a stalwart female role model who learns the importance of family, friendship and faith during her amazing journey. Richly hued illustrations reinforce the Chinese folk theme.



What I Thought: This is definitely one of my favorite books I have read this year. Every culture has stories that are whispered in the ears of their children. They begin as folktales that are passed down in verbal narrative until someone wrote them down. I love them, the sound of the words, the rhythm their message beats into my heart and the vivid images they paint across the canvas in my mind.  Rudyard Kipling's, The Elephant's Child and The Cat That Walked by Himself,  Tall Tales of Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill and Brer Rabbit. Lin artfully braids a complex story of greed and gratitude with bright threads of chinese folktales woven carefully to create an image that on the surface appears simple, but those who have traveled the tale will know otherwise. Add to that her brilliant illustrations and it is a book qualified to be called a masterpiece. I loved this book.

About the Author:  Grace Lin
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Who: Grace Lin is the author and illustrator of picture books, early readers and middle grade novels. Grace's 2010 Newbery Honor book WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON was chosen for Al Roker's Today Show Kid's Book Club and was a NY Times Bestseller. LING & TING, Grace's first early reader, was honored with the Theodor Geisel Honor in 2011. An Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award nominee for the US, most of Grace's books are about the Asian-American experience because she believes, "Books erase bias, they make the uncommon everyday, and the mundane exotic. A book makes all cultures universal."









  "...the book was inspired by the Chinese folktales and myths that I read as a child and when I began to write this book, I researched and read a lot more. Many times, I would read a myth that was little more than a line and would be unable to find more—which led me to create the story in my head." -Grace Lin


More Links (These are worth checking out!)

Bonnie's Books shares illustrations and excerpts.
Wagging Tales has a fascinating interview where Lin talks about her inspiration.
Paper Tigers shares more on Grace and her other books.
Seven Impossible Things to do Before Breakfast asks Lin about Minli as a character.
Story Sleuths offers a writerly analysis.



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