A Practical Guide to Dragons (Practical Guides) [Hardcover]

Lisa Trumbauer (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 26, 2006 | Age Range: 6 - 9 years | Series: Practical Guides

This lavishly illustrated guide showcases the wide array of fantastic dragons encountered on the world of Krynn. Sindri Suncatcher–wizard’s apprentice–opens up his personal notebooks to share his knowledge of these awe-inspiring creatures, from the life cycle of a kind copper dragon to the best way to counteract a red dragon’s fiery breath.

The perfect companion to the Dragonlance: The New Adventures series, this beautifully illustrated title introduces readers to the looks and habits of dragons of the Dragonlance world. With tips and tricks every new adventurer can use on imaginary encounters with dragons, this book will enchant readers with both pictures and words.

About the Author
Sindri Suncatcher is a three-and-a-half foot tall kender, who enjoys storytelling, collecting magical tokens, and fighting dragons. He lives in Solamnia and is currently studying magic under the auspices of the black-robed wizard Maddoc. You can catch Sindri in the midst of his latest adventure in The Wayward Wizard.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Did you know dragons hate sweet flavors? Or that the Draconic word for ugly is "nurh"? Or that the best place to find a green dragon is behind a waterfall? Any dragon buff worth his or her salt needs to know the ins and outs of these frightful, spectacular creatures. And Sindri Suncatcher, the wizard apprentice narrator of A Practical Guide to Dragons is just the man for the job. Although he forbids potential readers from opening the book, the insatiably curious will ignore the warning and begin reading Sindri's "scrolls" to learn what the sometimes foolishly fearless kender (small, mischievous hobbit-like man) has learned about dragons.

This gorgeously illustrated book by Lisa Trumbauer will provide hours of absorbed entertainment for humans in search of the nittiest grittiest details about dragons, from anatomy and physiology to combat techniques to society to language to the many types of dragons. Packed with details, it also is infused with sly humor throughout, with many allusions to Sindri's adventures with dragons, as well as to his colorful family (the book is dedicated to Aunt Moonbeam). --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal

Grade 3–7—Readers of "Dragonlance: The New Adventures" series (Mirrorstone) will recognize the "inscriber" of this book, an elf-eared "kender" named Sindri Suncatcher. Having gleaned much of his knowledge from a wizard mentor, he begins his book with a general look at the anatomy and life cycle of dragons. The bulk of the work is divided into six-page chapters, each introducing a specific species with a fierce-looking, full-page portrait and descriptions of physical attributes, offspring ("Eggs"), development ("Wyrmlings"), adult behavior, lair, and combat skills. Inset paintings, labeled anatomical sketches, and maps decorate the pages, which are shaded to look like parchment. Readers will learn that red dragons are "ferocious and cruel" and live in volcanoes, blue ones use their lightning breath to cook their food, brass dragons prefer talking to fighting, and gold ones spend most of their lives in human form. Filled with interesting and quirky details, this well-imagined manual is fun to browse. Although readers unfamiliar with Sindri's world may feel lost by references to the character's compatriots and experiences, this offering may appeal to die-hard fantasy fans.—Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal
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Product Details

• Age Range: 6 - 9 years
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Mirrorstone; First Edition edition (September 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786941642
• ISBN-13: 978-0786941643
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 0.5 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #100 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Dragons

More About the Author

Lisa Trumbauer is the New York Times best-selling author of A Practical Guide to Dragons. In addition, she has written about 300 other books for children, including mystery novels, picture books, and nonfiction books on just about every topic under the sun (including the sun!). Lisa lives in New Jersey with her husband, Dave, two moody cats, and a dog named Blue.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun, and useful to boot February 23, 2007

By Howard V. Tayler

Format:Hardcover

If you're a D&D fan with kids, you need this book. I mean, you can't be letting your kids read the monster manual, even though they really want to, because they're not supposed to know how many hit dice that beholder has, right?

A Practical Guide to Dragons is perfect for kids. I scored a copy from Stacy Whitman, the Mirrorstone editor at Wizards of the Coast (we met at LTUE), and hadn't yet opened it myself when my 11-year-old daughter captured it and hauled it off to her bedroom.

She has read the Monster Manual (that's what I get for leaving these dangerous tomes just lying around where anybody can see them) but eagerly plowed into this "lighter" volume and reported back that it was much better, since there weren't tables of numbers detracting from the enjoyable blocks of text. Besides, the blocks of text were a lot longer, and far more fun.

After reading (and enjoying) the book myself , I found another use for it -- it is possible that a tome very like this one could actually be "player knowledge," and could be worked into your next campaign as both a prop and a resource. There's even a little table of Draconic words you could drop into your campaign, forcing your players to do some research with the book rather than just throwing a d20 against "Knowledge: Draconic" and hoping they don't pooch the roll.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars For The Younger Dragon Hunters May 30, 2007

By Mel Odom TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Longtime fans of Dungeons and Dragons will recognize all of the dragons included in this slim, elegant manual. Those of us who began playing back in the 1970sknow these dragons by heart. However, we've never seen the material presented in this way.

My son and I read together all the time. We enjoyed a lot of fantasy novels, including the Harry Potter books, and he gets totally captivated by imaginary creatures. Last night, while perusing the new releases, my son discovered this book. The first time I noticed that he had it Was when I realized how quiet it had gotten. Though he enjoys reading books with me, he doesn't necessarily enjoy watching me look through the racks. He's nine, so he can fold up and sit on the floor anywhere.

Last night he was folded up reading this book. When I asked what he was looking at, I could see the excitement in his eyes when he showed me this book. I recognize that immediately as Dungeons and Dragons material, but the usual TSR and/or Wizards of the Coast Logos were nowhere to be seen. I looked at the publisher and realized it was Mirrorstone, an offshoot of the Wizards of the Coast publishing arm that directs books at young readers.

My nine year old loves read about animals. I don't know how many times he's come home and told me about animals he's read about and school. If he's not a zoologist, then he's going to be well-educated when it comes to animals.

Even imaginary ones!

The book is wonderful to look at. I flipped through the pages with him and talked about the times I had played Dungeons and Dragons and had to fight to the death against some of these creatures. Of course, he was mortified that I would even think about killing dragons. I tried to explain that some of them were evil and some of them had gold and treasure I wanted. He told me that dragons were entitled to their homes and that I was greedy. I didn't even bother to explain about experience points. I could only imagine my son's character getting charred and someone's campaign while trying to save dragons.

The pictures in the book are colorful and vivid, and printed on what looks like parchment paper. The combination gives the book the look of an illustrated manuscript. It's an oversized hardcover that looks like it can take years of love and punishment. (With children, love and punishment for favorite toys often cannot be separated.)

After we got home, my son continue to look at the book for over an hour, reading through the sections he got interested in. He came to me and ask the questions about dragons, testing my knowledge. I surprised him by knowing most of them, their breath weapons as well as whether or not they were good or evil. He told me he would study the book for a while, then I could test him.

Finding a book that totally entertains a child and immerses their imagination in another world is hard to find. Especially one there willing to pursue on their own. The language in the book is suitable for an aggressive second grader to read independently. The pictures will also inspire the budding young artist.

If you're looking for a unique gift for a birthday party, a book to take on long family trips, or something that won't get read once and simply filed away, I think you'll find A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO DRAGONS is a great book to entertain a young imagination over and over.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars great gift! December 29, 2007

By Colby Mortensen

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this as a gift for my 12 year old cousin--the art work is beautiful and detailed and the written descriptions of the dragons were imaginative and fun--perfect for a tween interested in fantasy!