Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons
(Ologies)

Dragonologists, both amateur and academic, will hail Dr. Drake's lavishly illustrated, 'rediscovered' guide.

With its faux-leather, gemstone-encrusted cover and timeworn pages, Dr. Ernest Drake's Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons, ed. by Dugald A. Steer, "purports to be the facsimile of an 1895 [book]" (according to a publisher's note), and is quite convincing as the long-lost research of 19th-century dragonologist Drake. Presenting a "scientific" study of dragons, the volume examines the different dragon species and their behavior, using fold-out flaps, patches of textured "skin" or "membranes," and sample science-notebook-style labeled drawings. In addition to the clever text and persuasive illustrations by Helen Ward, Douglas Carrel and Wayne Anderson, the interactive book includes an insert on dragon script, a mini-book of dragon riddles and a glass dragon eye bound into the back cover. An afterword concludes, "Cherish all animals. Then one day the world may at last learn to accept the honourable science of dragonology."

Copyright 2003 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

Gr 2-7-This faux nonfiction title carries echoes of James Gurney's Dinotopia (Turner, 1992; o.p.) in that it purports to be the actual writings of English dragonologist Ernest Drake. Unlike Dinotopia, however, this book is not a narrative, but rather an almost encyclopedic treatment of the subject. It delivers on its subtitle and covers every aspect of the study of dragons, treating the magical creatures as if they were real objects of scientific study. The discussion of the different species includes all types of dragons with which children might be familiar, from Chinese dragons to the European ones of the Grimm fairy tales. One particularly fun bit is the dragon alphabet, combined with some ancient runes written in dragon that can be translated. An aspect of the book that will be totally fascinating to children is the natural history of this creature, including diagrams of its skeletal and muscular structures, and even the development of a dragon embryo in the egg. The illustrations, mainly in color, and overall design of the book are appealing, from a foldout map of "Dragons of the World" to the flaps and cutouts throughout. This book will be hugely attractive to children, especially the "Harry Potter" crowd, but it is fragile.-Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.