Title The Dragon and the Unicorn Series --- Author Lynne Cherry Illustrated By Lynne Cherry Publisher Harcourt - 1998 First Printing HMH Books for Young Readers - 1995 Category Children Warnings None Main Characters Valerio, Allegra, King Orlando, Princess Arianna Main Elements Dragons

Valerio the dragon and Allegra the unicorn have always lived happily admist the towering, majestic trees of the ancient Ardet Forest and in harmony with the animals that call the forest home. But one day Valerio discovers a stranger, King Orlando, cutting down trees and building a shelter. More trees are cut, more shelters are built, and the king orders his knights to capture the unicorn and then the dragon. Only the king's young daughter seems sympathetic to the plight of the animals who are losing their homes and to the dragon and unicorn who must now live in hiding. But can the princess help save what remains of the Ardet Forest?

In this lavish, original fairy tale, Lynne Cherry has created a stirring environmental allegory to acquaint readers with the plight of old growth forests and the importance of preserving them.

The illustrations in this bok are beyond words, so detailed, so beautiful, so magical. Cherry really brings the forest alive, and while each page can only illustrate so much of the prose, if you look carefully around the edges you can find little bubbles where even more scenes are drawn out. So many things to discover on each page, you have to stop and spend time on each one drinking them them with your eyes. So many children's books are drawn as if the artist themselves were children, but just because someone is a little doesn't mean they can't appreciate beautiful illustrations. It takes a regular tale and makes it magic.

There are two other interesting parts to this dragon and unicorn tale, the first is that this is an environmental tale too. About how humans often fear the forests for it can be dark and scary, but that given a chance one can find the beauty and see why it should be preserved for all the creatures that live in it, and for ourselves. The second, the main characters are black. Race of course matters little in this story but that's kind of the point right, it shouldn't matter and so I'm glad of Cherry's choice.

The only problem I have with this book is that it belong to the library and I have to return it!