The Book Of Dragons [Hardcover]

Take one first-rate collection of fire-breathing, scale-flashing, wing-flapping, tail-lashing dragon yarns. Lace it with elegant black-and-white line drawings and a generous dollop of unabashedly romantic color plates awash with vibrant hues. The result? A deliciously old-fashioned storybook, delivering just the sort of fantasy Hague is best known for. He pulls out all the stops for this one, using watercolors to present a diverse assortment of winged beasts. There are green dragons, red dragons, multi-headed dragons, even dragons that hint of the Orient with their long beards and manes. The stories-from such luminaries as Kenneth Grahame, J.R.R. Tolkien, E. Nesbit, Elizabeth Coatsworth and C.S. Lewis-are equally splendid. All ages.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Grade 3-6?Seventeen short selections that will appeal to lovers of dragons, fantasy, and folktales. A broad range of writing styles and plot twists are pulled together to provide readers with something fresh in each tale. Excerpts from classic novels such as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, C.S. Lewis's Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and short stories such as Kenneth Grahame's "The Reluctant Dragon" are included. In addition, there are folktales from China, Italy, and Germany. Most of the heroes are men, but occasionally children are the only ones who can outsmart the dragon. In "Li Chi Slays the Serpent," it is a young girl who conquers the beast. Hague's beautiful full-page watercolors reflect the different moods of the stories and the temperaments of the dragons depicted. A pen-and-ink drawing of a dragon announces each new selection; delicately detailed line drawings appear throughout. The combination of well-selected stories and excerpts and dramatic artwork make The Book of Dragons a fine addition to library collections.?Dawn Ibey, Vancouver Public Library, Canada
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 4^-7. Seventeen classic dragon tales, among them Kenneth Grahame's "Reluctant Dragon," Kan Pao's "Li Chi Slays the Serpent," J. R. R. Tolkien's "Bilbo Baggins and the Smaug," the Grimms' "Devil and His Grandmother," and William H. G. Kingston's "St. George and the Dragon," have been illustrated here in Hague's bold signature style. The lush, full-page watercolors and the black-and-white drawings, some full page and others not, vary enough in execution to reflect the tone of particular stories. A handsome anthology to whet the appetites of the dragon-lovers among us. Sally Estes

“A handsome anthology to whet the appetites of the dragon-lovers among us.” (ALA Booklist )

For thousands of years, the legendary dragon has inspired awe and wonder in cultures the world over. Now Michael Hague, one of America's most beloved painters of fantasy, boldly captures seventeen classic dragon tales. Within these pages are the stories of heroic dragon slayers such as Perseus, St. George, and Sigurd, as well as the magical writings of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. The mythical dragon will be very real indeed for all who read these enchanting tales.

Michael Hague has illustrated a number of classic children's tales, including Peter Pan and The Velveteen Rabbit. His other much-loved books include The Book of Dragons, seventeen tales of the mythical beast;Sleep, Baby, Sleep, a collection of lullabies and night poems; The Rainbow Fairy Book, thirty-one classic fairy tales edited by Andrew Lang; and The Perfect Present. He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In His Own Words...

"I was born in Los Angeles on September 8, 1948.To me, Los Angeles was the most perfect place for a future children's book artist to grow up: Its combination of fantasy and freeways made it fertile ground for my child' s imagination to explode. Now, of course, it is a large, bustling city, but back then it was just a small bedroom community with lots of potential and a great tar pit.

"My mother, who is British and attended art school in London, gave me my first art lesson. She also gave me a wonderful set of colored pencils. The pencils came in a cardboard box decorated with the vision of the Venus de Milo.

"In addition to my exposure to fine art, my mother nurtured in me a love for books. Her childhood picture books impressed me so much that at an early age I knew exactly what I wanted to be--a baseball player. Fortunately, my inability to hit a curve ball determined that I rediscover my true vocation, book illustration.

"I graduated from high school in 1966. I did this and that for a couple of years before entering the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, where I graduated with honors. While attending Art Center I met my wife of twentythree years, Kathleen Burdick, a painting major. We fell in love and got married and finished school. I began sending out art portfolios to every publisher I could find an address for, desperately trying to get work as a book illustrator.

"My first book was published by Hallmark Cards in 1975. It was a pop-up version of Gulliver in Lilliput. It is very rare. If you happen to come across a copy that is reasonably priced, let me know.

"Since then I have lived what seems to be a charmed life. I have three wonderful children who are not only bright and witty but truly beautiful to look at. Probably every father says the same thing, but in my case it is absolutely true. I also have three cats, two large dogs, a bird, and a car that drives in the snow, and I live in a pink house.

"The very best thing I have is my work, which enables me to be like Peter Pan and never grow up. Being able to make pictures for all the books that were my childhood friends is like being in Never-Never Land. I not only paint fairy tales; I get to live one. I would like to give special thanks to three people: my mother, for encouraging me to be an artist, my grandfather, for his wonderful and ridiculous lies that brightened my days, and last but not least, Minnie Minoso, my favorite ball player, who always tried to take the extra base."