Here There Be Dragons [Hardcover]

Jane Yolen (Author), David Wilgus (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

Young readers encounter dragons of every conceivable form, from horrifying to harmless, in an illustrated anthology of inventive stories and poems about these fascinating mythical beasts.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dragon-lovers and maybe even dinophiles will unite to celebrate Yolen's (the Dragon's Blood trilogy) virtuosic poems and stories about dragons. Some new, others previously published, the entries cover a spectrum of genres: tales of heroic battles, romance, fantasy, science fiction (one story is set on another planet), occasional blood and guts, a story of Chinese origin, an ancient story retold (Merlin is a dragon) and even borscht-belt humor (" 'Is that all you can say?' asked the dragon. 'I tell you I am The Dragon and all you can answer is oh ?' "). Yolen introduces each selection, supplying its genesis and adding invitingly personal anecdotes (e.g., her son had a tattoo made from an illustration for the poem "The Making of Dragons"). An older reader's companion to Jack Prelutsky and Peter Sis's The Dragons Are Singing Tonight (Children's Forecasts, Oct. 11). Illustrations not seen by PW. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-8-Here there be dragons, indeed-in original poetry and prose, fiction, and original folklore-a total of five poems and eight stories from the prolific Yolen. Each selection is preceded by a chatty introduction explaining some aspect of where, when, how, or why she wrote it. She has clearly given much thought to dragons, and presents them convincingly from many points of view. "Great-grandfather Dragon's Tale" is a plausible, if revisionist, retelling of the legend of St. George. "The Dragon's Boy" is an episode in the early life of Artos and Merlin in the spirit of T.H. White's The Sword in the Stone. "Cockfight" is a story about Jakkin of Austar IV and his red dragon, which led to Yolen's well-known trilogy of dragon novels. "The King's Dragon" and "One Ox, Two Ox, Three Ox, and the Dragon King" are pieces that have the familiar motifs and rhythmic cadences of authentic folktales, making them good read-aloud choices. There are evil dragons as well as good ones in this collection, and after experiencing their variety and might, readers won't be able to help echoing the author's hope that they will return some day.
Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 149 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books (J); 1st edition (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152098887
• ISBN-13: 978-0152098889
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #561,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother. Active in several organizations, Yolen has been on the Board of Directors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, was president of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1986 to 1988, is on the editorial board of several magazines, and was a founding member of the Western New England Storytellers Guild, the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, and the Bay State Writers Guild. For twenty years, she ran a monthly writer's workshop for new children's book authors. In 1980, when Yolen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the citation recognized that "throughout her writing career she has remained true to her primary source of inspiration--folk culture." Folklore is the "perfect second skin," writes Yolen. "From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world." Folklore, she believes, is the universal human language, a language that children instinctively feel in their hearts. All of Yolen's stories and poems are somehow rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 for its intricate papercut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father, who was an international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr's exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband's interest in birding. Yolen's graceful rhythms and outrageous rhymes have been gathered in numerous collections. She has earned many awards over the years: the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Society of Children's Book Writers Award, the Mythopoetic Society's Aslan Award, the Christopher Medal, the Boy's Club Jr. Book Award, the Garden State Children's Book Award, the Daedalus Award, a number of Parents' Choice Magazine Awards, and many more. Her books and stories have been translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Afrikaans, !Xhosa, Portuguese, and Braille. With a versatility that has led her to be called "America's Hans Christian Andersen," Yolen, the child of two writers, is a gifted and natural storyteller. Perhaps the best explanation for her outstanding accomplishments comes from Jane Yolen herself: "I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Here there be dragons aplenty, June 27, 2002

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Here There Be Dragons (Paperback)

Jane Yolen produces more great poetry and fiction in "Here There Be Dragons," part of her short story series focusing on ghosts, angels, witches, dragons, and so forth.

It starts off with "Why Dragons?", a poem about St. George, and proceeds to the highly original "Great-Grandfather Dragon's Tale," a story from the point of view of the dragons rather than the humans. There are two evocative little drabbles (stories under a hundred words), the saddening "Dragon Woke and Stretched" and the spellbinding "Sorry the Old Man Said." "Cockfight" is what later became the Pit Dragon trilogy, a story about a young boy on a poor planet which has dragons fighting for money. "Dragon Night" is a sweet little poem, a sort of dragon lullaby. "Dragonfield" is a slightly less interesting story about an unheroic young man and a healer's daughter (and a dragon, of course).

"The King's Dragon" is the story of a member of the King's Dragoons, who has a slight problem when people keep hearing "dragoon" as "dragon." "Into the Wood" is pretty, if a little hard to understand. "Dragon's Boy," which later became a short children's novel, tells the story of the adolescent King Arthur and how he learned wisdom from a "dragon." "The Making of Dragons" is a thoroughly entertaining poem about how to construct a dragon. "One Ox, Two Ox, Three Ox, and the Dragon King" is the story of three boys called One Ox, Two Ox, Three Ox (I think their father had a screw loose), in a story partly influenced by Chinese legends. The collection ends with the wistful "Here There Be Dragons," a poem which harkens back to old maps with those words on them.

As in all of these books, Yolen includes comments and insights to the beginning of each story and poem, what caused her to write them and how they were influenced. David Wilgus's pencil drawings are realistic and soft-edged, very nice to look at and very appropriate to the contents.

A nice little collection for the dragon fanciers, much better than most story collections. Fans of Yolen's "Dragon's Boy" and "Pit Dragon" trilogy will undoubtedly enjoy this.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here There Be Magic, August 20, 2004

By 

Murasaki Drell "Murasaki" (Auckland, New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Here There Be Dragons (Paperback)

Yolen is one of my favorite authors, and I find it hard not to gush while describing her work. Hence, the complete and utter lack of other Yolen reviews in my repertoire (gushers can be tiresome, after all). Here There Be Dragons is one of a series of three books (the other two being Here There Be Unicorns and Here There Be Witches). In it Yolen has collected some of her best stories and poems regarding dragons, both real and imagined, good and bad, friendly and frightful. Brief but fascinating blurbs offer insight into Yolen's inspirations and the thought processes that went on as she created each tale.
David Wilgus illustrates all three books in the series, showcasing a wit, insight, and creative genius that perfectly complements Yolens own literary style. (One of the best examples of Wilgus's work is right on the cover -- look at the eye). I hope to see more of his work.
My only regret is that the collection is so short. Yolen's works are so clearly and neatly structured, and so original and accessible, and yet so very deep and complex, that I wish the stories will go on and on and on, and I am often startled and a little shocked when I reach the end of one of her books, and the story does not continue unfolding beyond the covers (unlike the shining silver road in one of her tales, which continues unwinding as long as the hero or heroine stays on it).
Here There Be Dragons is no different.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DESTINED TO BECOME A CLASSIC, April 21, 2004

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Here There Be Dragons (Turtleback)

Jane Yolen's great creative gifts come to the fore in this enchanting volume, which is a marvelous companion to "Here There Be Unicorns."

Both of these collections of stories and poems are superbly illustrated by duotone pencil drawings by David Wilgus. His detailed pictures are true compliments to what are destined to become classics in children's literature.