Stories about Dragons
List of Classic Dragon Books
Fire breathing dragons, knights in shining armour, castles with mystical jewels: children's literature shimmers with fantastic stories about dragons.
The Book of Three
Lloyd Alexander
Reading Level: 4th - 8th Grade1st book in the Prydain Chronicles Taran has the unrewarding job of being an assistant pig-keeper but he longs of nobler tasks - even if the pig is oracular. But soon Taran finds himself in the company of the prince and a race against time to save the kingdom of Prydain. Based on Welsh legends and topography.
My Father's Dragon
By Ruth Gannett
Talking Animals - HumorReading Level: 3-4th grade (Great read out loud book to children as young as four years.)
A silly story about a boy who goes to an island to rescue a baby dragon, and tricks the fiercest of wildest animals with mundane objects in his back pack.
St. George and the Dragon
Margaret Hodges
Reading Level: 2nd - 4thA modern retelling of a classic legend from medieval literature - complete with beautiful illustrations. Three times must the Red Cross Knight fight the wicked dragon. Adapted from the Fairie Queen. Winner of 1984 Caledecot.
Book of Dragons
E. Nesbit
Reading Level: 3rd - 4thInterest: Kindergarten and above
A very spoiled king opens the dragon book and is surprised when a real dragon flies from the book. A collection of eight very unfrightful stories about dragons.
The Reluctant Dragon
Kenneth Grahame
Reading Level: 2nd - 4thFrom the author of Wind in the Willows, comes another friendly animal story - this time about a gentle, scholarly dragon. When fearful townspeople demand the dragon be slayed, Sir George comes to do the deed. But what happens if a dragon does not care to fight? The story is a little similiar in nature to the Disney movie Pete's Dragon, though it predates it by about 90 years.
The Peleg Chronicles
Matthew Christian Harding
Reading Level: 6th grade and aboveThe Peleg Chronicles is a trilogy that is relatively new on the market, and not a classic - at least yet. But I think the book will fare well with dragon lovers. With a distinct Christian philosophy, the descendents of Noah live in a land filled with dragons, dangerous tyrants, and gladiator-like warriors.
The Hobbit
JR Tolkien
Reading Level: 5th Grade and aboveBilbo Baggins, the contented hobbit from the Shire, finds himself in the company of 13 dwarves who depend on him to help reclaim their ancesteral home from the dreaded legendary dragon, Smaug.
Lord of the Rings
JR Tolkien
Reading Level: 7th Grade and aboveOnce more hobbits are matched against fierce dragons and other evil creatures, but this time in a far more serious and epic conflict. The triology is the sequel to The Hobbit. Welcome to the world of wizards, orcs, wargs, and nazguls who fly on dragon-like beasts.
Farmer Giles of Ham
JR Tolkien
Here is a short story (about 60 pages) of a dragon named Chrysophylax Dives, a lazy-farmer-turned-hero named Farmer Giles, a dim-witted giant, and a dragon-fighting sword. One also encounters insolent knights and a very unnoble king in this tale told in the same humor of The Hobbit but much shorter. Whether one is a lover-of-all-things-Tolkien or a lover of fairy tales and dragon stories, you won't want to miss this story. Currently it is published in "Tales from the Perilous Realm" and also in "The Tolkien Reader."New and Notable Dragon Stories
While these series have not reached the time-proven designation of classics, we think dragon-lovers who are always looking for new tales will find hours of enjoyable reading.Dragons In Our Midst
3 Series of 4 books Each
Bryan Davis
Age: Young AdultGenre: Christian fantasy
Era: Creation to End of the Earth
Series: 3 different series making a total of 12 books (each 300 - 500 pages) following the same family of dragons
These tales can be described as a mix of King Arthurian legends, Noah's Ark, and Marvel comics. Throw in Joan of Arc and modern America and the stage is set!
In these stories dragons were created as good creatures, entrusted to help protect humans, but also able to be corrupted. The background story (revealed in the first book) is that a blood thirsty knight in King Arthur's court was so determined to destroy ALL dragons because a few had killed humans, that Merlin turned the few surviving dragons into humans to protect them. Two of these dragon/humans waited 15 centuries to marry regular humans and have kids who - alas - sprout some dragon-features. Since it's fiction we will overlook the biological and ethical dilemma of reptile-human combinations. Because of the enjoyable, high-drama action plot we'll also hold back skepticism that after 1500 years two kids turn up in the same grade at a middle school in West Virginia. Never mind that the descendant of Merlin is their history teacher, and the principal is the dragon-slayer himself. The legal heir of King Arthur also attends the school (what a coincidence) which would really make our British cousins quite ticked at the author for cultural appropriation.
I originally bought the first few books for a young dragon-lover, but got so hooked on the action-plot that I bought all twelve and read to the end. The series flashes back to the beginning of time, traverses alternative universes (the seven circles of Hades) and continues forward until Earth's judgment.
The Dragon and the Mask
Series of 6 Books
Deanna Cooper
Age: Young adult and aboveGenre: Christian allegory
Era: 1960's to now
The dragons in this series are the personification of demonic evil. The Troye family discovers the existence of a dragon only they can see on their farmland which exposes the corruption spreading in their community - a corruption that started with the founding of their town. Through six books you follow the family over several generations as dragons epitomize personal temptations and modern social ills. Roughly based on the book of Jeremiah.
