Celebrate the Year of the Dragon Part 1: Picture Book

In celebration of 2012 being the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar, in this series of posts I will recommend children's books featuring dragons, starting with picture books.

1.  "The Paperbag Princess" by Robert Munsch (Author) and Michael Martchenko (Illustrator)

In this hilarious tale, a dragon destroys Princess Elizabeth's castle, burns her clothes and snatches her fiancée, Prince Ronald.  Wearing only a paper bag, the resourceful princess sets off to find her prince.  She outwits the dragon and rescues the prince, who turns out to be no Prince Charming.

I have fond memories of this book which I owned as a child, along with a copy of Robert Munsch's "Mud Puddle" (both in miniature format, perfect for little hands).  My favourite part was, and still is, when Princess Elizabeth calls the spoiled Prince Ronald "a bum" (and rightfully so).

2.  "Merlin and the Dragons" by Jane Yolen (Author) and Li Ming (Illustrator)

Jane Yolen draws upon Arthurian legends in this book, which features Merlin telling a young King Arthur  a story about another boy who had a prophetic dream about battling dragons.

I have not read this book, but I've enjoyed so many other books by Jane Yolen, I'm putting in on my "to read" list for 2012.

3.  "Max's Dragon Shirt" by Rosemary Welles.

If you are looking for something for a younger child, I would recommend "Max's Dragon Shirt".  Ruby is given just enough money to buy her brother Max a new pair of pants, but he wants a shirt with a dragon on it.  As usual, Max manages to outwit his older sister, much to the delight of young listeners.
   

Click on the pictures below to learn more:

Please share your favourite dragon-related pictures books.