Cover of Here There Be Dragons by Jane Yolen

Here There Be Dragons

HERE THERE BE DRAGONS

Illustrated by David Wilgus

Harcourt Brace 1993

ISBN # 0-15-209888-7 Harcourt hardcover

ISBN# 0-15-201705-4 Harcourt paperback

Short stories and poems, all written by me, having to do with dragons. This was the first of the five HERE THERE BE. . .books. Since I’d already written many dragon short stories, I only needed to write one new one–a Chinese dragon story. Included here is “Cockfight,” which started the Pit Dragon Trilogy, as well as “Great-Grandfather Dragon’s Tale,” and “Dragonfield.” Each story and poem begins with a short introduction about how it came to be written.

The Here there Be… series

What reviewers have said:

  • “From the mysterious to the humorous, Yolen offers her own distinctive additions to dragon lore in this enjoyable collection of eight short stories and five poems. She introduces each selection with informal comments on its origin and content. Some of the carefully executed pencil drawings, including the jacket, are particularly effective.” — Horn Book
  • “Dragon-lovers and maybe even dinophiles will unite to celebrate Yolen’s (the Dragon’s Blood trilogy) virtuosic poems and stories about dragons.” — Publisher’s Weekly
  • “Here there be dragons, indeed-in original poetry and prose, fiction, and original folklore-a total of five poems and eight stories from the prolific Yolen. Each selection is preceded by a chatty introduction explaining some aspect of where, when, how, or why she wrote it. She has clearly given much thought to dragons, and presents them convincingly from many points of view. “Great-grandfather Dragon’s Tale” is a plausible, if revisionist, retelling of the legend of St. George. “The Dragon’s Boy” is an episode in the early life of Artos and Merlin in the spirit of T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone. “Cockfight” is a story about Jakkin of Austar IV and his red dragon, which led to Yolen’s well-known trilogy of dragon novels. “The King’s Dragon” and “One Ox, Two Ox, Three Ox, and the Dragon King” are pieces that have the familiar motifs and rhythmic cadences of authentic folktales, making them good read-aloud choices. There are evil dragons as well as good ones in this collection, and after experiencing their variety and might, readers won’t be able to help echoing the author’s hope that they will return some day.”–School Library Journal
  • “An entertaining anthology of poetry and short stories, this book will inspire the imagination of youngsters at story hour as well as those of more mature readers. . . .Gorgeous black and white drawings are interspersed amongst the 13 tales.” — http://www.childrenslit.com
  • “Wilgus’s full-page illustrations, in soft pencil emulating the effect of lithographs rendered on stone, are especially appealing–beautifully modulated forms, subtle characterizations, classic images of dragons, handsome, formally structured compositions. Inviting.”–Kirkus
  • “Yolen’s portrayals of dragons are so varied and so beautifully toldthat the book not only avoids the pitfalls of draconian cliché, also allows the more jaded adult reader to recapture some of the wonder felt when they first encountered dragon stories.”—SF site
  • “Yolen is at her formidable best in the kind of stories found in this book.”—Mythprint
  • “Dragon lovers of all ages will resonate to this creative mélange…The storyteller’s craft is evident and this is a wonderful collection for reading aloud.”—The New Advocate

Recording:

  • “Cockfight” originally published in Orson Scott Card’s DRAGONS OF LIGHT and now found in my HERE THERE BE DRAGONS, is recorded in an audio book, A Dragon Lover’s Treasury of the Fantastic, Time Warner AudioBooks, ISBN# 1-57042-136-6.

Available in hardcover and paperback.