Customer Reviews

The Discovery of Dragons: New Research Revealed

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

(Graeme Base is also known as Rowland W. Greasebeam, B.Sc.)

The Discovery of Dragons: New Research Revealed is a revised edition of Graeme Base's original 1996 tongue-in-cheek release, The Discovery of Dragons. The original Discovery of Dragons featured the letters of three fictional explorers as they discovered various dragon species in Europe, Asia, and the tropics. The updated edition introduces a new explorer, Francisco de Nuevo, as he travels through North America. All have been compiled by the equally fictional serpentologist, Rowland W. Greasebeam.

Graeme Base is known for his beautiful illustrations, and The Discovery of Dragons is more art than story. The exquisitely detailed portraits of various dragons will keep you glued to the page, scoping out every aspect. Base seems to have taken a different approach with the North American dragons, making their likenesses more comical than threatening, which fits the text perfectly. This would make a wonderful coffee table book.

Once the reader is able to move past the entrancing artwork, the storyline is original and humorous. There are now four explorers in this revised edition, each with their own interesting motivations.

--The first is the Viking Bjorn of Bromme, writing to his "bad-tempered cousin, Olaf the Grim," as he travels through Europe.

--Next is the Asian adventurer Soong Mei Ying as she writes to her ailing father, Soong Chen Yi. Third is cartographer and ampibiologist, Dr. E. F. Lieberman writing to his fiancée, Prunella Hapsburgernfries, as he forges through Africa, Madagascar, and Tasmania.

--Last is the newest addition, Francisco de Nuevo, writing "to his lady friends" as he explores the New World. As each stumbles along in Monty Python fashion, they encounter dragons as small as mice and as large as houses, with personalities as colorful as their features.

Intended for ages 9 to 12, The Discovery of Dragons: New Research Revealed is a book that can be appreciated by all ages.

Armchair Interviews says: Base combines powerful images with light-hearted humor in a unique blend of entertainment.

My son loved the first Dragon book so when he saw that there was a second one, he had me get it for him immediately. He stayed by the mailbox every day hoping that Amazon would somehow beat their "estimate" (which they often do).

Imagine his disappointment (and mine) when he found out that this book is nearly identical to the first with the only difference being the addition of about 4 additional dragon types.

Don't get me wrong -- We love Graeme Base and his books and I would highly recommend this book if you haven't already read the first one.

However, I do believe that this book was a bit misleading since it was nearly identical to the first one. Very disappointing.

The Discovery of Dragons: New Research Revealed is a singularly gorgeous picturebook of fantastic dragon species. Written for readers of all ages, The Discovery of Dragons features a gorgeous full-color picture of a dragon species on each two-page spread, and scraps of "primary source research" about the amazing sighting of the beast on the other. From Livingstone's Demon to Spotted Marsh Draak and the beautiful yet delicate Japanese Butterfly Lizard, The Discovery of Dragons dazzles the imagination and even challenges the reader to expand his or her imagination about what truly constitutes a dragon. A "must-have" for the private library collections of dragon lovers everywhere.

I stumbled upon this book when I was looking around in the Children's Section (yes, I do that), for the role-playing books. Terribly annoying that they put role-playing in that same category, but oh well, I'm not so proud that I won't go there. And I found, much to my surprise, a similar outcast - Base's books are written with amusement and sophistication, and while they could be entertaining if read to a child, they are not children's books. This one is gorgeous, with the dragons fully rendered, amusing (and fictional) notes in reference to them from various explorers, tiny cartoons in the framing illustrating the stories involving the dragons, and maps of the world which show where the dragon comes from. Also, the dragons have a size comparison, from a man (who happens to be running away in the silhouette comparison), to an elephant. The only flaw? A jungle dragon described as a "massive beast" in the text and shown to be much larger than a man in the cartoon frame, is shown as the size of a cat on the size-comparison silhouettes. An impressive side note: Base did the artwork too!

This book is well worth the money. Very interesting and informative. Even the kids love it. Pictures are great and content is written very well

My old eyes need help reading the tiny font in the panels at the bottom of the pages.

It's the story of 4 explorers (in 4 separate chapters) traveling the continents and describing the dragons they find... and it's the story of a scientific rivalry that leads to some fabrication (and outright lies?) Interesting for older children to sort this out. Well done.

Really neat. I'd recommend it for 11+. Every page is VERY wordy. It's a cool book, but not really geared towards small children.

What I really liked about this book is that my 6 year old would listen raptly while I read to her (or play with the various objects) and I could enjoy the wit of the 'story'. It was fun and very tongue in cheek in many areas. Plus, there is so much to explore and do with the book. The illustrations were good and it is an easy read. I would definitely recommend this, especially as a book to read to a child. They won't get all (or many) of the concepts but there's enough to see/touch/play with that it won't matter.

I never knew Dragons were such fun. Every kid needs a little fantasy no matter how old they are.
A really enjoyable way to pass a few quiet moments, and oh those amazing sketches.
From an old kid who just won't give up.

Had to explain the concept a little, but just a little. This book was fun to read with my 7 year old.