IV. Satiric Dragon Stories in Picture Books

  Tina's favorite picture book dragons

Ashburn, Boni. Hush, Little Dragon. Illus. Kelly Murphy. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2008. "In this variation on an old lullaby, a mother dragon promises her fussy baby a variety of tasty treats, from a princess and some knights, to a magician and three musketeers" (Worldcat).

Base, Graeme. The Discovery of Dragons. New York: Abrams, 1996. Ingenious examples of fictitious dragon research are found in this mock-scientific treatise by the Australian author/illustrator's Victorian alter ego, a “serpentologist” named Rowland W. Greasebaum. Beautiful paintings of dragons accompany torn and stained old letters from three past explorers around the world who claim to have discovered dragons:  a ninth-century Viking, a thirteenth-century Chinese trader’s daughter, and a nineteenth-century Prussian amphibiologist. Detailed borders with comic narrative details add to the intricate, fanciful parodies for older readers of eccentricities and conflicts among fanatic explorers and scholars depicted as the true discoverers of dragons.

Bass, Jules. Herb the Vegetarian Dragon. Illus. Debbie Harter. Barefoot Books, 1999. A cartoon-like story with a medieval setting, about conflicts between carnivores and a vegetarian dragon, dragons and people. Herb the vegetarian is the only dragon captured by the knights of Dark Castle when they decide to kill all predators; Herb needs help from his carnivorous fellows and the girl Nicole to avoid wrongful punishment.

Blyton, Enid. “Mr. Wumble and the Dragon.” 1934. Rpt. in Enid Blyton’s Bedtime Bookshelf.  Illus. Helen Cockburn. Stamford, Conn.: Longmeadow Press, 1993. Henpecked Mr. Wumble becomes a hero in his wife’s eyes and wins a castle by arranging a fake fight with a timid dragon.

Cole, Babette. Princess Smartypants. New York: Putnam’s, 1986. An independent princess who chases away all suitors is accompanied by her pet dragons.

dePaola, Tomie. The Knight and the Dragon. New York: Putnam’s, 1980. An inexperienced knight and dragon read instruction books and diligently prepare for battle. After bungled attacks, however, they become partners in K & D Bar–B–Q.  In many other modern books it has become a tiresome cliché to see lonely, insecure or defeated dragons reduced to firing furnaces or barbecues, and performing other menial tasks for humans.  But, in spite of a goofy-looking, wide-eyed dragon and a surprising amount of pastel coloring for a dragon story, De Paola’s humorous anachronisms keep the knight and dragon on an equal footing. Both send letters to arrange their battle and later read new how-to books together when a medieval bookmobile passes by. In a waiter’s apron, carrying burgers on huge recycled shields, the knight seems engaged in more humble labor than the fire-breathing dragon at the grill.  The minimal text and wordless pages help prevent this story of medieval rivals turned business partners from becoming moralistic, allowing readers to develop their own interpretations of why the fight fails and whether it is better to open a barbecue than to engage in mortal combat.

Deedy, Carmen Agra. The Library Dragon. Illus. Michael P. White. Atlanta:  Peachtree, 1994. This wacky story uses puns and many comical allusions to dragon lore to satirize human behavior.  Miss Lotta Scales, a thick-skinned librarian with a burning love of books and snapdragons, guards her books like a dragon watching its hoard.  She incinerates St. George and the Dragon, a book about cruelty to dragons.  Although a small girl inspires her to loosen up and reinstate storytime at the library, causing her scales to fall off, she still has a tail at the end of the tale, since every librarian needs some dragon in her to guard the books.

Freidman, Jim. The Mysterious Misadventures of Foy Rin Jin: A Decidedly Dysfunctional Dragon. Illus. Patti Strer. New York: HarperCollins World, 1999.

Grahame, Kenneth. The Reluctant Dragon. Illus. Michael Hague. New York: Holt, 1983. This precursor of many comic tame dragon tales was first published in Grahame's book Dream Days in 1898.  Grahame’s peace-loving dragon commands more respect than many tame and timid dragons in later stories because he is a poet, his developing friendship with a boy is described in careful detail, and he decides thoughtfully when to follow the advice of his fellow experts in dragon lore—St. George and the well-read boy. It turns out that St. George never really wanted to fight as much as he had to, so this friendly trio stages a mock battle.  Unlike Hague's reprint with illustrations that are too farcical for this gentle satire, E. H. Shepard’s simple drawings in other editions (first published in 1938) depict a dragon with a conventional shape, showing a friendly face to his companions or a fierce one while pretending to be an aggressive dragon to please the thrill-seeking crowd of townspeople.

Hazen, Barbara S. The Knight Who Was Afraid of the Dark. Illus. Tony Ross. New York: Dial, 1989. Sir Fred saves Lady Wendylyn from 10-headed dragon before dealing with his fear of dark.

Hook, Jason. Where's the Dragon? Illus. Richard Hook. 2003. New York: Sterling, 2004. George's grandfather, a nineteenth-century wood carver, takes him on a dragon hunt. Although they think they don't find a dragon, they climb all over a large one and the pages are filled with embossed dragon images for the reader to find and feel. Bright, humorous illustrations in a realistic style.

Jane and the Dragon. CGI animated television series about a medieval girl who would rather train to be a knight than a lady-in-waiting. Her best friend is a 300-year-old fire-breathing dragon. Created by Nelvana and WETA. Nelvana is a Canadian animation company. The web site says they tried to create the look of characters who stepped out of a children's book. For books, see Baynton on page Dragons in Chapter Books and Novels.

Kent, Jack. The Once-Upon-a-Time Dragon. New York:  Harcourt Brace, 1982. A dragon named Sam gets to try out of being a man and joins the circus.

Kent, Jack. There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon. New York: Golden Press, 1975. Rpt. 2005. The tame dragon grows bigger and bigger, then shrinks to kitten size and behaves like a house cat at the end, but the primary object of satire is the parents who go about their daily routine refusing to believe in the dragon, even when it is big enough to carry the house down the street in pursuit of snacks from a bread truck.

Knapman, Timothy. Guess What I Found in Dragon Wood? Illus. Gwen Millward. New York: Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2008. "In this twist on the 'boy finds lost pet' tale, a young dragon discovers a Benjamin in Dragonwood. The dragon takes the boy home, to school and the playground. The Benjamin is a fascinating creature. He doesn’t have claws or scales and can’t even fly. When the Benjamin gets homesick, the dragon decides to help him get home. How will the other Benjamins react to finding a dragon in their world?" (product description)

Marshall, Archibald. The Dragon.  Illus. Edward Ardizzone. New York: Dutton, 1967. Marshall uses tongue-in-cheek language to satirize the contest of suitors and courtly life more than the dragon. Ardizzone’s illustrations depict fairly conventional scenes of dragon attacks and royal deliberations. Maurice Sendak has praised Ardizzone for adding only a few “witty twists” to the text, as in the drawing that shows a page eating a snack while the dragon munches on the unwanted “hideous and bald and middle-aged” suitor. Sendak also admires the portrayal of “the dragon’s death with grandeur and monumentality,” which gives him a new air of dignity (Sendak, Caldecott & Co.: Notes on Books and Pictures. New York: Farrar, Straus, 1988, p. 136).

Munsch, Robert. The Paper Bag Princess. Illus. Michael Martchenko. New York: Annick Pr, 1980. A princess goes after a dragon that captured her prince. Princess Elizabeth follows in the tradition of folk heroes who conquer enemies of monstrous powers and proportions with their wits rather than a sword, using flattery to trick the dragon into wearing himself out. The story ends abruptly when Elizabeth rejects the ungrateful "bum" who complains that she is dirty and underdressed in her paper bag, although the dragon burned her clothes and she has just rescued Prince Ronald from the bloodthirsty monster. The cartoonlike illustrations tell us at the outset what Elizabeth realizes at the end—her fiancée is a preppy snob with a tennis sweater and stuck-up expression.  In this amusing role reversal satire, spunky Princess Elizabeth seems admirably independent, dancing merrily off into the sunset alone, although her accomplishment and her reward are limited because the dragon is so easily duped, and the prince is so undeserving

Nash, Ogden. Custard the Dragon and the Wicked Knight.  Illus. Lynn Munsinger.  Little, Brown, 1999. Sequel to The Tale of Custard the Dragon (see below).

Nash, Ogden. The Tale of Custard the Dragon  Illus. Lynn Munsinger.  Little, Brown, 1998. Reprints of Nash's poems with colorful line-and-watercolor illustrations. Custard, Belinda’s "realio, trulio, little pet dragon," seems like the prototype of the extremely cowardly dragon, teased unmercifully by the child and her other pets.  Custard “keeps crying for a nice safe cage,” but when real danger appears—a “pyrate” in the first poem and evil Sir Garagoyle in the sequel—Custard is the one who uses his dragon tail, mouth, flame and wings to viciously conquer the enemies and save his terrified friends.  It’s simply nonsense that after each fearless triumph he returns to his cowardly ways, although in the second poem he suggests that it’s a deliberate lifestyle choice: "I've learned what a nuisance bravery be,/So a coward's life is the life for me."

Nesbit, E. The Deliverers of their Country. Illus. Lisbeth Zwerger. Picture Book Studio, 1985 (originally published in Nesbit's Book of Dragons).

Nesbit, E. The Last of the Dragons. Illus. Peter Firmin. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980. (also published in Nesbit's Five of Us—And Madeline, 1925) . Reprinted in Crosscurrents of Children's Literature: An Anthology of Texts and Criticism. Ed. J. D. Stahl, Tina L. Hanlon, and Elizabeth Lennox Keyser. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2006, in Part 7, Satires and Spin-Offs: Reworking Classic Children's Literature. A princess who rebels against her traditional role finds that the dragon she encounters craves affection and sympathy.

Both Nesbit tales (above), with modern details, humor, and feminist twists, are also in a Macmillan edition of Nesbit’s The Complete Book of Dragons. Illus. by Erik Blegvad, 1972.

O’Connor, Jane. Sir Small and the Dragonfly. Illus. John O’Brien. New York: Random House, 1988. A tiny knight enters the town of Pee Wee, asserting, ”I’m small, but I’m brave.” Riding his “trusty ant,” with a shield the size of a penny and a sword like a pin, Sir Small rescues Lady Teena by trapping a dangerous dragonfly in a spider web.  This Step Into Reading book (Step 1) is a very gentle spoof that retains the classic theme of a brave knight rescuing a damsel in distress.

Stern, Peter. Max the Dragon. New York: Crown, 1990. A mail-order dragon turns out to be a mouse who has to play the dragon role and defeat a monster.

Tillstrom, Burr. The Dragon Who Lived Downstairs. Illus. Burr Tillstrom. New York: Morrow, 1984. A caretaker dragon in the basement of a rented castle helps defeat a witch who wants gold.

Wiesner, David. The Three Pigs. New York: Clarion, 2001. The appearance of a dragon is one of many surprises in this postmodern adaptation that won the 2002 Caldecott Medal. Wiesner uses white space and shifting visual styles to show the wolf blowing the pigs out of their traditional story into a different fairy tale world in which they help a dragon escape from his medieval tale, leaving the knight that has come to slay him puzzled. The dragon then helps them trick the wolf so that the pigs, the cat from "Hey Diddle, Diddle," and the dragon can live happily ever after in the brick house.

Other Dragon Picture Books:

I.  Retelling Traditional Dragon Lore

II.  Folktales, Old and New

III.  Dragons in the Imagination and Dreams

V.  Tame and Timid Dragons

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This page's last update: 07/02/2008
Tina L. Hanlon

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