by John Gardner. This edition did not disappoint and offers up four charming fairytales that were originally published in 1975.Synopsis (from Goodreads):
John Gardner’s first children’s book takes the traditional fairy tale and turns it on its head. In the title story, a meddlesome dragon meets his match. “The Tailor and the Giant” tells the story of a cowardly man who finally faces his fears. A villainous beast of burden attempts to rid himself of his master in “The Miller’s Mule.” And in “The Last Piece of Light,” a brave young chimney-sweep saves the world from darkness. Filled with irreverent twists on the classic elements of princes and princesses, witches and wizards, and the magical realms that they inhabit, Dragon, Dragon is a collection of fun and fantastic tales to be cherished by readers of all ages.
Genre/Length: Kids, about 70 pages (novella length for adult books)
The Good:
The stories are lovely. There is also a droll sense of humour to each of the stories. For instance, in "The Tailor and the Giant" the Queen is turned into a rosebush by the kingdom's doddering wizard (who could not remember the spell to turn her back because a trouble causing dragon had stolen his spell book), throughout the story there are references to the rosebush and her predicament.
This book may interest parents for bedtime reading for older children (I know that I will probably suggest this to my sister for my niece and nephew).
The Bad:
I do not have any real complaints about the book itself, but I was taken a bit aback by the price. According to Sony, B&N, and Amazon the list price for this book is set at 14.99$ with many of the retailers having their price set at between 9 to 12$--for a book this length I find that to be a bit high (especially given that there seem to be many used editions out there).
If you like:
...fairy tales and are looking for fairy tales that are not as dark as say Grimm's.
Overall:
I loved the stories in this book, my only issue is with the list price.
Cover Rating: B
I like this cover and it is much better than the original issue from 1975. The bright colours caught my attention and I would likely pick it up if I was shelf shopping for books for my nephew or niece.
Where I got it: Netgalley
MPRS: G
