Dragons give flight to the imagination. In fact, in some books they represent the imagination.
Beatrice Blue’s previous book was shortlisted for the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize, and Once Upon a Dragon’s Fire is just as enchanting. It is one of a lovely series about magical creatures (also unicorns and mermaids).
Naomi Howarth’s The Night Dragon is a beautiful and heartwarming book about finding the courage to be different.
A fine contemporary poet, Lemm Sissay, and talented illustrator, Greg Stobbs, show in Don’t Ask the Dragon just how much more a great picture book is than a few simple words and some pictures.
An unlikely friendship features in Sylvia and Bird, a beautifully illustrated story from Kate Greenaway Award winning Catherine Rayner.
Years 1/2:
Picture books:
Dragon Post by Emma Yarlett is a simple picture book about friendship, engagingly extended by the inclusion of several letters to remove from their envelopes. Great fun to explore together. It has striking modern illustrations too, by the author herself.
You get an outsider’s view of fairy stories (literally) in the amusing and entertaining There is No Dragon in This Story from Lou Carter. Glorious. Touches of the ‘post-modern’ for young children..
Chapter book:
Humour, adventure and magic are all here is spades in Andy Shepherd’s sparkly imaginative and charming The Boy Who Grew Dragons. Perfect for engaging this age group in an extended read. There are lots of sequels for children to explore independently afterwards too. (Would also suit slightly older children.)
Years 3/4:
Engagement level:
Terry Pratchett, author of the incomparable Diskworld books for adults, brought his wit and wisdom to this book for much younger readers with hilarious results. Dragons at Crumbling Castle is a volume of short stories, so gives the flexibility of reading one, more or all. Not all of them are about dragons, but you (and the children) may well not be able to resist them anyway.
Cressida Cowell’s How to Train Your Dragon is so popular that I really don’t need to include it here. But it is such a total joy to read aloud, and such a sure-fire hit with children, that I couldn’t resist. Vikings have never been so much fun. Any of this long series would do just as well - providing, of course, that too many of your children haven’t already read them, which they may well have done.
Stretch level:
Dragon Rider is a relatively gentle, warm-hearted fantasy, with Cornelia Funke’s trademark, engagingly odd quirks, and a good ‘entry level’ for the genre. It should delight children of this age and is the first of a sequence for any who want to follow it up.
Years 5/6:
Engagement level:
Philip Reeve is one of the masters of contemporary fantasy for young readers. His No Such Things as Dragons is a clever twist on a classic knight-hunting-the-beast tale and a hugely entertaining read.
Stretch level:
Fictionalised history meets fantasy in the rich, complex and very exciting Darwin’s Dragon . It is a triumph for Lindsay Galvin and makes for a great read.
Liz Flanagan’s Dragon’s Daughter is all-out high fantasy and a thrilling introduction to the genre. Boys should not be put off by the title; the power and emotional pull of the dragons is what dominates in the best children’s fantasy to emerge for quite a while. A classic page-turner, it will keep listeners on the edge of their seats too. There is now a sequel - and perhaps more to come.
(Practical tips and helpful suggestions for planning regular ‘Story Time’ can be found in the NOTES PAGES of this blog.)
