Title The Book of Dragons Series --- Editor Michael Hague Illustrator Michael Hague Publisher HarperCollins - 1995 First Printing HarperCollins - 1995 Category Anthology Warnings None Main Characters --- Main Elements Dragons Website ---

• The Dragon and the Enchanted Filly - Italo Calvino
• The Adventures of Eustace - C.S. Lewis
• Perseus and Andromeda - Padraic Colum
• The Reluctant Dragon - Kenneth Grahame
• The Flower Queen's Daughter - Andrew Lang
• Li Chi Slays the Serpent - Kan Pao
• Bilbo Baggins and Smaug - J.R.R. Tolkien
• Uncle Lubin and the Dragon - W. Heath Robinson
• The Deliverers of Their Country - E. Nesbit
• The Devil and his Grandmother - the Brothers Grimm
• Sigurd and Fafnir - Andrew Lang
• The Story of Wang Li - Elizabeth Coatsworth
• St. George and the Dragon - William H. G. Kingston
• Stan Bolovan - Andrew Lang
• The Good Sword - Ruth Bryan Owen
• The Dragon of Wantley - Anonymous
• The Dragon Tamers - E. Nesbit

For thousands of years, the legendary dragon has inspired awe and wonder in cultures the world over. Fearsome in strength, ferocious in appetite, yet majestic in bearing, this fabulous beast has long been a favorite subject of artists and storytellers.

Now Michael Hague, one of America's most beloved painters of fantasy, boldly captures seventeen classic dragon tales, armed only with the magic of his paintbrush. Here beside the heroics of Perseus, St. George, and Sigurd are the adventures of the girl who slew a dragons and became queen of China, as well as the dazzling comic twists of Kenneth Grahame's "The Reluctant Dragon", and E.Nesbit's "The Dragon Tamers." Here too are such magical authors as J.R.R.Tolkien, C.S.Lewis, and Italo Calvino.

The mythical dragon will be very real indeed for all who read these enchanting tales and pore over the twenty full-color and sixteen black-and-white illustrations. Michael Hague's art has never breathed more fire.

A collection of classic tales, some told in full, others are just excerpts, all illustrated with Hague's unique style. I really enjoyed reading this book because of it's wide variety of tales from around the world and from more modern tales.

Normally I'm a huge fan of Hague's artwork, especially when he paints unicorns, I swear he is capable of turning the stereotypical "horse with a horn" into something other, something magical and mysterious and powerful. On the other hand, his dragons look a little...goofy? Don't get me wrong, some of the tales are silly too and require a silly looking dragon, but the others don't come off as scary majestic creatures, they are too knobby and bumpy, but that's just me, after all, what does a dragon really look like?

But this book is only half about the art, the other half is the stories. I enjoyed revisiting some old favorites like Smaug and Eustace, and meeting up with some new ones, and of course the classics that any dragon collection should not be without such as Fafnir or St. George. I have no idea if this book is still in print, I found it several years ago in a used bookstore, but it should be part of any dragon lover's collection.