By Sabrina Chin
Who doesn’t love a good dragon? They hoard treasure, breathe fire, and even fly! That’s probably why there are piles and piles of dragon books to read, and I could have made a dragons list five times as long. Here are just a few of the dragon books in my to-read pile.
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1. Seraphina, Rachel Hartman So I have to admit I’ve read this one, but the sequel, Shadow Scale, came out recently so it’s on the list to read as a refresher before getting to the sequel. Seraphina Dombegh is a musician and, secretly, a dragon, in a world where no one would believe that a dragon could make music. This book won the Morris Award for a debut young adult book. |
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2. Nimona, Noelle Stevenson I missed this when it was a webcomic, but I’m looking forward to reading this mix of the modern day and fantasy, since it promises “Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism!” |
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3. How to Train Your Dragon, Cressida Crowell Okay, so I saw the movie and its sequel, and maybe you did too. Who wouldn’t want their very own Toothless? I’ve heard the book and movie aren’t very much alike, so it will be interesting to compare them. |
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4. A Natural History of Dragons, Marie Brennan Lady Trent is a naturalist studying dragons, despite a world that frowns on her doing so. What can I say—I like the idea of majoring in dragons! |
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5. Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton In Tooth and Claw, the dragons are the ruling class, and humans their servants. There is much dragon drama, because they are a complicated folk. I think of this as maybe kind of like Downton Abbey…just with dragons. Dragons who eat each other, sometimes. |
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6. Talon, Julie Kagawa After humans hunt dragons to near-extinction, the remaining dragons disguise themselves and humans and try to regain their footing. It turns out that even today, the danger is far from over… |
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7. Dealing with Dragons, Patricia Wrede Here’s the summary from Goodreads, and I can’t put it better: “Cimorene is everything a princess is not supposed to be: headstrong, tomboyish, smart—and bored. So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon—and finds the family and excitement she’s been looking for.” |
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8. Dragon Bound, Thea Harrison When you steal a coin from a dragon, expect that dragon to be really, really mad. Dragons need love too, though. I’ve heard this is spicy and funny! |
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9. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Grace Lin Okay, another confession is that I’ve already read this one, but I couldn’t leave it out. Minli undertakes a quest, and a dragon is her companion in this sweet middle grade book. It’s got the feeling of a classic tale while still being brand-new. |
As mentioned, this is my to-read list and I limited myself to nine books, so I had to leave a lot out. I’d love to hear about your favorite—or to-read—dragon books, too!
A picture book favourite of mine is Tell Me a Dragon by Jackie Morris. The illustrations are spectacular!!
Excellent list!