5/15/2022 Picture Book Round-Up: Draggin’ the Dragons into the Spotlight

Sasha Wallace
May 14, 2022
5 min read

Every day, I wake up & thank God that humankind is still low-key obsessed with dragons. I hope we never get over them. Perhaps I’m biased, since my elementary school mascot was the Dream Lake Dragon, but I also think dragons are a sort of soft, wistful magic that feels like it’s got this great potential to be real. Think about it this way. We have monitor lizards. Iguanas. Seahorses. Komodos. Gators. Crocs. Bearded dragons. My husband said horny toads, which I may have snorted at until I beheld this:

Even most dinosaurs looked like medieval depictions of dragons. It isn’t outside the realm of possibility that dragons could or at one point did exist. I mean, they don’t look impossible. I think that’s what keeps us going back to them, what makes us continue to churn out art, hopes, poems & legends serenading their scorching scales. Whether they are teeny tiny or hulking huge, whether they are friendly smiley or gonna-smite-thee or helping Mulan bring honor to us all, dragons will forever reign supreme.

Picture Book 1

Title: The Dragon and the Unicorn

Author & Illustrator: Lynne Cherry

Recommended for: Grades 2-4 (BUT! I would wait until grades 6-8, then pair it with the film or films outlined further below)

Basic plot: A dragon & his unicorn companion enjoy carefree days of frolicking in the Ardet Forest – until an oblivious king begins to cut it down to build his fortress. Worse still – he sends his best knights to capture them both. Will his daughter be able to intervene in time to save the animals’ ecosystem?

Why I love it: Cherry is known for her environmentalism & this book, despite the mythical element, is no different. There are undertones of conservation that send a powerful message to kiddos, not unlike Cherry’s other much-admired tome, The Great Kapok Tree. I especially enjoy several facets here – the fact that the princess isn’t your typical blonde-haired, blue-eyed siren; the fact that her disappearance is what thaws the king’s heart & makes him see reason; the fact that the names – Valerio & Allegra – are so random & unexpected; the fact that this feels like off-brand FernGully without the fairy romance & I’m here for it; even them munching on huckleberries & wild asparagus was a nice touch. This story really is all about learning to live in harmony with wild things & using only the resources you need. What an astute message for children.

Oh, & the illustrations are like Jan Brett’s margins meet Trina Schart Hyman’s mythologies – NOT TO BE MISSED!

Where can you find it? Amazon, eBay, AbeBooks, Thriftbooks (cheapest $1.56 & up, used).

Extension activity: First, read this poem by Wendell Berry entitled “The Peace of Wild Things”:

Construct themes using the following in conjunction with the forest:

Cleansing
Cycles
Escapism
Eternity

With parental discretion, I highly recommend pairing this with a viewing of Studio Ghibli’s acclaimed film, Princess Mononoke. Though it is PG-13, that is mostly a cautionary rating for several short sequences of violence & I truly feel that a) your kiddo has sadly probably already been exposed to much worse via TikTok or basic TV anyways & b) the benefits outweigh the means, so to speak. This is a critical-thinking film. It will make you stop, shiver, & change your ways. Many of the same elements are visible here, such as the presence of forest ambassadors bravely vying to protect their domain, & encroachment from outside forces.

This is a website I trust that walks you through a potential showing of this film to your child:

https://teachwithmovies.org/princess-mononoke/

If desired, click the link below to learn more about the world’s oldest forests, including Yakushima in Japan. The Shiratani Unsuikyo ravine is depicted in several scenes:

https://www.oldest.org/geography/forests/#:~:text=The%20Daintree%20Rainforest%20is%20estimated,miles%20(1%2C200%20square%20kilometers).

If you want to go even further, my stepmom showed me Dances With Wolves when I was 14 & it cemented itself in my heart as one of my all-time favorites. Partially due to the amazing soundtrack by John Barry, but also due to the fact that it really moved me, the way Lt. John Dunbar learns to move in complete synchronicity with those canines. He did not tame them. Instead, he understood & was accepted by them. That plotline parallels Princess Mononoke’s upbringing, so to speak, with Stands With a Fist’s character giving off a lot of don’t-mess-with-me vibes until Dunbar earns her trust. It really isn’t a stretch to pair the two films. Dances is more about understanding different cultures than conservationism, but the romance & the growth of the characters is still a joy to behold, & like Mononoke, two completely different factions of society must meet in the middle to accomplish a mutually beneficial goal.

This website is a great parent guide for ascertaining if Dances is a good fit for your family (there is a lot of cursing, so I totally get it if you want to ixnay this one):

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/dances-with-wolves

Picture Book 2

Title: Dragons: A Pop-Up Book of Fantastic Adventures

Author: Keith Moseley

Illustrator: M.P. Robertson

Recommended for: Grades 1-3

Basic plot: Each page depicts a different well-known dragon tale from around the world, including that of Saint George. The dragons legitimately jump out at you, so beware opening the book too quickly or while sipping a drink.

Why I love it: Where else will you ever hear the term wyvern?!

Where can you find it? Amazon, eBay, AbeBooks, Thriftbooks (cheapest $1.96 & up, used).

Extension activity: I had a student make a pop-up book for a project last unit that rocked my world. I double-dog dare you to make your own pop-up dragon! Use this as a resource:

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Pop-up-Book

Picture Book 3

Title: The Popcorn Dragon

Author: Jane Thayer

Illustrator: Lisa McCue

Recommended for: Grades PreK – 2

Basic plot: Dexter the Dragon discovers he’s able to blow smoke. So he does – everywhere, on everyone & everything, all the time. This is pretty annoying – until he finds himself in a cornfield. Then, it becomes deliciously convenient.

Why I love it: When I first read Eragon by Christopher Paolini, I actually thought in my little fifth grade mind that it would be cool to have a baby dragon as a pet so he could make the best popcorn & I could sneak him to the movie theater & save a bunch of money. Even then, I was thrifty, & even then, the idea of dragons partaking in a shared dining experience titillated me. Because of course, my dragon ate veritable buckets of popcorn & loved it smothered with a smoky butter sauce. Dexter is the pet I never had but always wanted.