178
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #194,246 most helpful
out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★★★★
Utterly Magnificient!
This book is something special, and will be loved by anyone who is drawn to the magical, the mythical, the wonderful.
As well as anything and everything you'd ever want to know about dragons and things dragonish and dragonly, you will be entertained along the way with what amounts to a quite spry sense of humor, and that when least expected. For example, dragons love lettuce (we all knew that, right?), so it would be well advised to tote a head of it along (iceberg will do) at all times, advance preparation being half the battle.
This book is presented in the spirit of Gnomes (Poortlvliet), Faeries (Froud), Giants (Larkin), Unicorns (Hathaway), Witches (Jong)...an entire library of books in which it is a given the creature is real and not mere fantasy. This makes for great fun, no matter the age; just be a child at heart.
Of exciting note: The original of this book having been written, purportedly, in the beginning of the 20th century, the language is delightfully archaic and (by today's standards) full of whimsy. We are placed in another mindset and into an earlier time, when perhaps it would not be so radical to believe such beasties could exist, indeed, while munching on lettuce.
The art is top notch, the book full of delights and cozy places to explore. For those of us who have no trouble at all believing that dragons are alive still (and very well, thank you) a keener book could not be found.
I'd give it 10 stars, sigh, if only I could. Now, 'tis time to find myself a dragon, or perchance to let it find me...
March 2004 · Books · verified purchase