Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons (Ologies)
Grade 2-7-This faux nonfiction title carries echoes of James Gurney'sDinotopia(Turner, 1992; o.p.) in that it purports to be the actual writings of English dragonologist Ernest Drake. UnlikeDinotopia, however, this book is not a narrative, but rather an almost encyclopedic treatment of the subject. It delivers on its subtitle and covers every aspect of the study of dragons, treating the magical creatures as if they were real objects of scientific study. The discussion of the different species includes all types of dragons with which children might be familiar, from Chinese dragons to the European ones of the Grimm fairy tales. One particularly fun bit is the dragon alphabet, combined with some ancient runes written in dragon that can be translated. An aspect of the book that will be totally fascinating to children is the natural history of this creature, including diagrams of its skeletal and muscular structures, and even the development of a dragon embryo in the egg. The illustrations, mainly in color, and overall design of the book are appealing, from a foldout map of "Dragons of the World" to the flaps and cutouts throughout. This book will be hugely attractive to children, especially the "Harry Potter" crowd, but it is fragile.-Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.