January 16th is National Appreciate a Dragon Day, a day dedicated to the love of all thing’s dragons. Here are recommended titles featuring dragons for all ages.
Juvenile
You must never touch a dragon… except in this book! Meet the dragons in this funny rhyme that warns of the dangers of touching a dragon, and then ignoring the advice.
As a school project, George and Blaise become pen pals, writing rhyming letters about their favorite things to do, unaware that one is human and the other a dragon.
Fire Truck vs. Dragon by Chris Barton
Friends Fire Truck and Dragon demonstrate what a good team they make at campfires, cookouts, birthday parties, and more, but in unexpected and unimpressive ways.
Phoebe the Moonlight Dragon by Maddy Mara
“Phoebe has a special task ahead of her. She must spread her wings and rescue the Dreamlets, magical creatures who create dreams for all the forest animals. Can Phoebe overcome her fear of the dark to help save nighttime?”– Provided by publisher
Dragon Pet by Scholastic
“It’s time for another field trip! Ari and his class visit a farm where they are entrusted with an egg to adopt. This is a big responsibility for Ari but he’s excited nonetheless. Everyone’s egg hatches into harmless animals, except for Ari’s. His hatches into a baby dragon! Cool, right? Wrong! As the dragon grows, Ari realizes he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Ari and his friends have to figure out a way to capture the dragon before it destroys all of Blockhaven! Can they handle it?”– Provided by publisher.
While researching the existence of dragons for an essay that could win him a trip to the Arctic, Chris opens himself to the possibility that a great, ancient treasure exists there, guarded by bears, and that he has some role in its protection.
Teen
Sarah Dewhurst and her father, outcasts in their little town of Frome, Washington, are forced to hire a dragon to work their farm, something only the poorest of the poor ever have to resort to. The dragon, Kazimir, has more to him than meets the eye, though. Sarah can’t help but be curious about him, an animal who supposedly doesn’t have a soul but who is seemingly intent on keeping her safe. Because the dragon knows something she doesn’t. He has arrived at the farm with a prophecy on his mind. A prophecy that involves a deadly assassin, a cult of dragon worshippers, two FBI agents in hot pursuit–and somehow, Sarah Dewhurst herself.
To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
“A young, Indigenous woman enters a colonizer-run dragon academy after bonding with a hatchling-and quickly finds herself at odds with the “approved” way of doing things-in the first book of a brilliant new fantasy series. The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations-until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon’s egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered: a Person Who Belongs to a Dragon. Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have a quite different opinion. They have a very specific idea on how a dragon should be raised-and who should be doing the raising-and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, then her dragon will be destroyed. For a girl with no formal schooling, a non-Anglish upbringing, and a very different understanding of the history of her land challenges abound-both socially and academically. But Anequs is smart and determined, and resolved to learn what she needs to help her dragon, even if it means teaching herself. The one thing she refuses to do, however, is become the meek Anglish miss that everyone expects. For the world needs changing-and Anequs and her dragon are less coming of age in this bold new world than coming to power”– Provided by publisher.
Adult
The Awakening by Nora Roberts
Breen Kelly hates her job and has massive student loan debt and lately she has noticed a silver-haired man following her. While house sitting for her mother, she finds records of a multimillion dollar inheritance in her name. When she flies to Ireland to claim what is rightfully hers, she enters a magical land of faeries, elves, and mermaids. In this new land, she will embrace powers she never knew she had.
The Last Dragon of the East by Katrina Kwan
“Inspired by Chinese myths of ancient dragon gods and threads of fate, Katrina Kwan’s dazzling fantasy debut is a propulsive adventure perfect for fans of Sue Lynn Tan and Hannah Whitten. At the spry young age of twenty-five, Sai has led a quiet life, keeping the family teahouse up and running-even if that means ignoring the past-due notices-and taking care of his ailing mother. But he has a not-so-secret gift that he’s parlayed into a side career: he was born with the ability to see the red threads of fate between soulmates, which lends itself nicely to matchmaking. Sai has thus far been content not to follow his own thread, the only one he’s ever seen that’s gray and fraying. But Sai’s ordinary existence is about to be turned upside-down by a pair of shining dragon scales. When his mother’s doctor sells them to him, claiming them as a miracle cure, Sai is pretty sure he’s being scammed. When the medicine actually works-and the terrifying, ruthless emperor catches wind-Sai is thrust into the search for a dragon long thought extinct that will lead him into the throes of a brewing war and deep into foreign lands, facing down challenges both magical and mortal on an unexpected adventure. And for the very first time, as his own thread of fate begins to move, he may be able to solve the mystery of his Fated One at the other end of the line”– Provided by publisher.
Written by Kara Bailey