Customer Reviews

Everyone Knows What a Dragon Looks Like (Aladdin Books)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I had this book as a child, given to me by my late beloved grandmother and was thrown away by a wicked stepmother. Over the years, I remembered the book vividly having amazing pictures and missed it terribly. Of course 20+ years later, as well, it was hard to find and out of print. I searched all over the net to buy a copy for my own daughter. I found a wonderful bookseller here on Amazon who sold me my copy for $25 and what a bargain that was! I would have bought it for so much more just so my daughter could come to love this tale as I do. May it teach young ones that they should always be kind because they never know what good may come of it. Out of love for a great story, this is my review. dk~

This is a wonderful story of consideration, courage, insight, and inner peace. A boy who sweeps the gates of the city for a room and a bowl of rice offers up both to a little old man who's been traveling. This selfless act is rewarded when the man turns into a dragon and saves the city from the Huns. Pure, innocent, and one of my favorites. Plus extrordinary illustration by Mercer Mayer!

My aunt gave me this book for Christmas the year it was published -- I was five.

I read and reread it throughout my childhood. I still read it once and a while and always think of it fondly. Because of the illustrations, I do know what a dragon looks like.

Han, a poor orphan boy sweeps the gate of the city of Wu, which is sandwiched between China and the land of the Wild Horsemen. Threatened by the horsemen, the city leaders pray to the Great Cloud Dragon for help. One day an old, fat man comes to the city and announces that he is a dragon. Han takes him to the palace to meet with the city leaders. The old, fat man offers his assistance if the leaders will show him courtesy. The city leaders scoff at the old, fat man and send him away. Han gives up his own meager meal to the old, fat man who decides to save the city for his sake. Han tells the story to the people of the city and is called "The Honorable Defender of the City." Mercer Mayer's illustrations have the appearance of ancient engravings with expressive faces and intricate detail.

This story shows the folly of judging by appearance and the rewards of kindness. This lesson is reinforced when the city leaders - the Mandarin, the Captain of the Army, the Leader of the Merchants, the Chief of the Workmen, and the Wisest of Wise Men - explain that surely dragons must look like Mandarins, Army Captains, merchants, workers, or wise men. Unfortunately, the source of this tale is unclear. Is it a traditional folk tale or the author's invention?

Amazon claims this is the 1984 version, but it's not. This version will be printed when you order it in black and white and then a color cover added. My version says it was printed in January 2011, this is totally deceptive! This is a great book, it's a travesty that someone at Amazon thought they could buy publishing rights and print ugly b&w copies and sell them as a second edition.
Save yourself the hassle and look for a full color version, you won't be happy otherwise.

I also ordered this book as soon as I saw that it was available. It has been out-of-print for many years and was a childhood favorite of mine. I received the book and was greatly disappointed to see that it was a very small, bootleg-type printing. The quality is so poor that you can barely appreciate the beautiful illustrations. I was saddened and disappointed by the false advertising.

I love this book. I had it as a child and it is one of many that clearly remember. However, this particular copy was a major disappointment. My children received it for Christmas, because I put it on my wish list. The cover is as beautiful as I remember it but it doesn't go beyond that. The pages inside are black and white, tiny, and look like somebody printed them from an old cheap printer. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS EDITION!

The original version of this book, published in hardcover in 1976, was big (11"x9"), beautifully illustrated, and had wonderful story.

All that's left here is the wonderful story.

This version is 8 1/4" square. The glossy cover has been stretched vertically so that it fills the whole square. The inside pages have been shrunk down to 8"x6", leaving two inches of wasted white space, one on the top margin and another on the bottom.

The print date on this book is the day that I ordered it. I can only assume that it was a print-on-demand job. The original book appears to have been machine-scanned and stored, then printed and shipped to me when I ordered it.

Still, I could forgive all of the above if the book had just been printed out in color. By printing it in B&W, Mercer Mayer's rich illustrations blend into a uniform dark gray. Shrinking the images only makes this worse.

Can an adult still figure out what's going on in these pictures? Of course. But will a child be able to do so? Not easily.

If you grew up loving this book, and want to share it with your own children, do them a favor and don't buy this edition. You can still buy used copies of the original book on Amazon. Buy that instead - I promise that you won't regret it.

One of my favorite childrens books of all time.A little boy,with vision not clouded by cynicism, prejudice or arrogance,saves his village by believing in someone despite their appearance. Wonderfully written, rich in wisdom and extraordinarily illustrated. Simply a beautiful book for any child.

This is an incredible story about humbly recognizing the Truth, even when it (He) appears in an unexpected form. Whenever a great Savior comes to the people of the world, He is rejected because He does not look like, or act like, or speak like people think He should.

The hardback version of this book is 11x8 inches. This version is 8-1/2x7 inches (printed on paper 8-1/2x8-1/2 inches with extra-wide upper and lower borders). Do not let the picture of this book on Amazon.com fool you, nor the claim this is hardback. NEVERTHELESS, if this is the only version of this book available, and at this remarkably low price, I urge you to purchase it.