The Magnificent Book of Dragons

by Stella Caldwell, Gonzalo Kenny (Illustrator)

Overview

This beautifully illustrated series will have you captivated. Stunning illustrations, intriguing facts, and a large format make an engaging reference to revisit time and again.

This magical menagerie will lead you on a thrilling journey through the fantastical realm of dragons. Meet fire-breathing monsters, ferocious serpents, wise and gentle giants, and multi-headed beasts.

From the hundred-headed Typhon of Ancient Greek mythology to the dazzling Aztec dragon Quetzalcoatl, all sorts of magnificent beasts are brought to life from across the globe and many different cultures.

Fascinating facts accompany each illustration so you can find out which dragon darted from tree to tree, how Shenlong was master of the rain and wind, and which creature could hypnotize people with its blazing eyes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681887395
Publisher:	Weldon Owen
Publication date:	12/14/2021
Series:	The Magnificent Book of
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	9.40(w) x 12.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Stella A. Caldwell has written dozens of books for children covering everything from mythical beasts and legends to the ancient Egyptians, pirates, and medieval knights. She studied English literature at the University of Edinburgh and spent many years working in children's publishing as an editor before writing her first book, a field guide to dragons called Dragonworld.

Gonzalo Kenny has a fascination for science fiction, horror, and fantastic universes. His illustrations of fantasy art and conceptual design are published in board games, videogames, trading cards, and in the entertainment and film industry.

Editorial Reviews

2021-08-18
A select gallery of dragons and related creatures of myth and legend from every continent except Antarctica.

Kenny goes for grandeur in his 36 full-body portraits, loading his digital brushes with shimmering, saturated colors and posing his writhing subjects flying, swimming, or coiled threateningly over hills or heaps of treasure. Though some, like Fafnir, Quetzalcoatl, and Typhon, will likely be familiar to many younger dragon lovers, there is an unusual number of less-renowned monsters: the Mekong River’s Phaya Naga, for instance, as well as the eyeball-loving Boitatá of Brazil, the Mississippi’s Piasa Bird with its creepily human face, and the Swat River Valley’s Apalala—said to be benign and so an outlier in this otherwise ill-tempered gathering. Caldwell’s accompanying notes are rather less magnificent. Along with leaving her sources of information unmentioned, she offers only terse assortments of descriptive observations, perfunctory mentions of prominent legends, and individual fact boxes that don’t always capture the thrill: Nidhogg, for example, the serpent gnawing at the roots of Yggdrasil, has “teeth that can chew through trees.” (Well, so do beavers.) There is no backmatter beyond an unlabeled world map strewn with tiny images that underscore the geographic diversity of this scaly assemblage. Despite this diversity, the aesthetic of the art throughout will be familiar to lovers of European-based fantasy regardless of any given beast’s culture of origin. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Worth a gander for the art, at least. (Informational picture book. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews