The Dragons Are Singing Tonight [Hardcover]

Jack Prelutsky (Author), Peter Sis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

Once They All Believed In Dragons

Once they all believed in dragons
When the world was fresh and young,
We were woven into legends,
Tales were told and songs were sung,
We were treated with obeisance,
We were honored, we were feared,
Then one day they stopped believing--
On that day, we disappeared.

Now they say our time is over,
Now they say we've lived our last,
Now we're treated with derision
Where we once ruled unsurpassed.
We must make them all remember,
In some way we must reveal
That our spirit lives forever--
We are dragons! We are real!

"An excellent collection....Prelutsky and Sis...bring to life so many sorts of dragons: the large, the small, the ferocious, the technological, the gentle, the ominous, and the disconsolate. There's a `just right' quality to the verse that makes it a pleasure to read the words aloud. Their sounds fit together with seamless craftsmanship and their sense rewards listeners with humor, imagination, and occasional poignancy....Because it appeals on so many levels, this is one poetry book that won't siton the shelf for long."--Booklist.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"If you don't believe in dragons, / It is curiously true / That the dragons you disparage / Choose to not to believe in you," matter-of-factly claims America's premiere children's poet Jack Prelutsky. Dragons aren't all the same, of course--some are amiable, some are disconsolate, and some are downright nasty. Here Prelutsky, who has written over 30 books of poetry for children, turns his considerable talents to the subject of dragons--a secret dragon, a thunder dragon, a mechanical dragon, even a lazy dragon who likes to sleep all day. The 17 poems range from the whimsical to the scary, but all reflect Prelutsky's incomparable flair for rhythm and humor. The fabulous fire-breathers are illustrated in all their irresistible splendor by award-winning artist Peter Sis. The sophisticated style of his large oil paintings is complemented by his trademark borders in antique gold, giving the pages an Old World look. If you don't believe in dragons then you need this book, because the magical combination of art and poetry will make you and your kids believers. If you listen closely, you might even hear the dragons singing tonight: "We are dragons! We are real!" Text © 1993 by Jack Prelutsky. Illustrations © 1993 by Peter Sis. Permission by Greenwillow Books.) (Ages 5 to 9) --Marcie Bovetz

From Publishers Weekly

Prelutsky ( Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast ) and Sis ( An Ocean World ; Komodo! ) outdo themselves with this fanciful series of poems about dragons. Prelutsky wrings a range of surprising verse from a seemingly limited theme. Stock images get a face-lift: in "A Dragon's Lament," for example, the narrator declares, "I'm tired of being a dragon, / Ferocious and brimming with flame, / The cause of unspeakable terror / When anyone mentions my name." An unerring sense for rhythm lends punch to the light verse, while more atmospheric selections, like the title poem, conjure up a fantasy world, where dragons come out of their lairs and "sing of their exploits of old / Of maidens and knights, and of fiery fights / And guarding vast caches of gold." Sis adds a new depth to Prelutsky's poetry. The artist's trademark antique gold borders enclose dramatically colored full-spread oil and gouache paintings. Old-fashioned imagery collides happily with whimsy: a Tenniel-style girl "walks" her leashed dragons, which soar in the air like kites; an ailing scaly dragon, reclining in its fairy-tale-like stone house, sips from tanks of gasoline; a goggle-wearing pilot in an open-air cockpit steers a mechanical dragon made from charmingly low-tech components (an umbrella serves as propellor). An enchanted pairing. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 1st edition (September 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068809645X
• ISBN-13: 978-0688096458
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #888,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jack Prelutsky has filled more than fifty books of verse with his inventive wordplay, including the national bestsellers The Wizard, Scranimals, and The New Kid on the Block. He is also the author of Be Glad Your Nose is on your Face, a collection of his most celebrated verses. He was named the nation's first Children's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. Jack Prelutsky lives in Washington State.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent 4-year old book., June 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dragons Are Singing Tonight (Hardcover)

Our 4-year old loved this book. Lots of different personalities and voices. His favorite was Boom and he walks around the house pretending to be Boom. The drawings are excellent and complex enough to get our son to ask questions about why the dragon has trees growing on him, etc.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is poetry to inspire children & adults alike., April 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dragons Are Singing Tonight (Hardcover)

I took a chance on Jack Prelutsky's gifted poetry and read this book to my son's 2nd Grade class, instead of a run-of-the-mill story. The children were enthralled. They really longed for the world to have dragons again, real or otherwise. Never mind that some of the vocabulary was a bit sophisticated for them (My Dragon's Been Disconsolate), they wanted to hear every poem, not just those I'd selected for them. My son returns to the book to gaze at Peter Sis' whimsical illustrations and read the poetry over again every so often. I peek over his shoulder each time!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book, August 28, 2006

By 

Cat Herder "Don" (Bryan, TX United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Dragons Are Singing Tonight (Paperback)

I had a soft copy for my two kids and they trashed it from use. I was thinking about it when we decided to theme the office programming area the "Dragon's Lair". So I bought two copies, one for my daughter and one for our artist. My daughter immediately remembered the book and it is now read 1-2 times a week for her. My artist draws dragons for fun so she is about as happy as my daughter!