Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons
Ernest Drake. Candlewick, $19.99 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-7636-2329-6
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.""
Details
Reviewed on: 10/13/2003
Genre: Children's
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