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54th out of 570 books
—
211 voters
The Book of Dragons
Eight madcap tales of unpredictable dragons — including one made of ice, another that takes refuge in the General Post Office, and a fire-breathing monster that flies out of an enchanted book and eats an entire soccer team! Marvelous adventure and excitement for make-believers of all ages. 24 illustrations.
Paperback, 176 pages
Published
October 26th 2004
by Dover Publications
(first published 1900)
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In The Book of Dragons (1900) E. Nesbit tells eight humorous and imaginative fairy tales about dragons set in modern England or fairy tale kingdoms, all with a modern perspective that both subverts and enjoys the genre. In addition to a variety of dragons (with different sizes, colors, personalities, abilities, and so on), Nesbit writes engagingly about other creatures, from magical ones (cockatrice, manticore, etc.) to non-magical ones (elephants, rabbits, etc.). Wizards and witches, princes an...more
Aug 08, 2011
Brandi
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
children and parents
This book contains fairy tales and stories about dragons. Each story is different; some are about princes or princesses, while others are about regular children who happen upon magical creatures in their daily lives. I enjoyed all of the stories, and I think they'd be great read aloud.
However, as with other children's books of its era (such as The Princess and the Goblin), it contains a few violent parts that we might frown on today. These instances are few and far between, and shouldn't be take...more
However, as with other children's books of its era (such as The Princess and the Goblin), it contains a few violent parts that we might frown on today. These instances are few and far between, and shouldn't be take...more
I gather that people who read E Nesbit's works too often don't read the biographical info. If they did, they'd realize that she was in fact a revolutionary, who gave children MUCH more respect than her predecessors did.
This is a collection of short stories, so following my usual practice with anthologies, I will list the stories with a short synopsis of each, as I go.
(1) The Book of Beasts: Open the book, and the beast depicted thereon escapes into the world. What price a table of contents?
(2) U...more
This is a collection of short stories, so following my usual practice with anthologies, I will list the stories with a short synopsis of each, as I go.
(1) The Book of Beasts: Open the book, and the beast depicted thereon escapes into the world. What price a table of contents?
(2) U...more
Apr 21, 2011
Bettie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Bettie by:
Wanderful Wanda
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This was another book I read aloud with my kids. They love dragons for some reason, and they really enjoyed these stories. They have a fairy tale feel to them, with moral lessons, (somewhat) gruesome endings, and all. My children especially liked the baby that would cry and cry and cry whenever its mother was asleep. (No real surprise that my daughter felt a kinship with that particular character.) I especially liked that the princesses weren't all just waiting to be rescued and that so many of...more
A charming children's book containing eight stories where dragons also come in the picture. It was nice meeting again with a Hippogriff, however briefly, a Manticore and, obviously, dragons. Though I would have enjoyed seeing more personality in those dragons - not a bunch of enormous dragon flies, supposedly wicked and greedy, it's a children's book after all and it must be read in this mood (I, at least, have a special children's story mood).
I don't need to say how much I appreciate Nesbit's w...more
I don't need to say how much I appreciate Nesbit's w...more
A wonderful collection of dragon stories with kids in them and not really scary. We listened to this with the kids in the car.
I chose the ones done by Roy Trumbull (via archive.org). He has a nice old raspy voice, which makes it even more fun and old sounding. I think I might listen to some more books read by Mr. Trumbull.
We also downloaded the book on the kindle too, so we could look at the pictures as we went along (probably got it from google's free e-books since they normally include the pic...more
I chose the ones done by Roy Trumbull (via archive.org). He has a nice old raspy voice, which makes it even more fun and old sounding. I think I might listen to some more books read by Mr. Trumbull.
We also downloaded the book on the kindle too, so we could look at the pictures as we went along (probably got it from google's free e-books since they normally include the pic...more
4.o stars. It's taking us a while to get through it, but the first of the eight short stories - "The Book of Beasts" - is excellent. Reading it, I had to wonder if E. Nesbit had been a poet. Google said yes. The language is "young" enough yet varied enough to appease a 4-year-old attention span and keep him asking questions. An interesting break from newer fiction in the age 4 group, which is generally easier and shorter. "The Book of Beasts" stayed in his mind all day, and he was eager to get b...more
I liked this book and finished it this morning. the first tale I liked allot, and I have lots of E. Nesbit's books. the thing I DIDN'T like about these where that all the dragons were seen as cruel creatures that ate almost anything and in truth there are such things as nice dragons. and also the fact that in the end of each story the dragon of that tale got killed.I mean, after a while you sort of know the dragons are all going to be fire breathing fiends and they are going to be evil and eat e...more
Long ago, sometime around elementary school, I found a shelf of dragon-story collections in the local public library. At least, that’s my memory—a whole bunch of books that all had bunches of stories of dragons, and I worked my way through all of them, some of them more than once. I have often tried to find some of those books as an adult, but not having authors or titles or anything to go on, kept not-finding them. But I’m pretty sure this book was one of the ones I read back then and loved. So...more
Apr 19, 2013
Judy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
children aged 10 or over, or adults
Shelves:
children-s-books,
adult-or-child
The Victorian language and the rampant 'sly winking' makes this a quirky read. (The way they talked to children in 1900, not to mention all the caning!) So reading this to children would require some explanations along the way. But all that aside, the inventiveness of the stories is astonishing. Nesbit must have had the most original of imaginations and obviously enjoyed her storytelling. Good on her. A really entertaining read.
Actually, since I'm putting my fairy tale reading into the context...more
Actually, since I'm putting my fairy tale reading into the context...more
This is an anthology style collection of short stories about dragons. They are written for children, hence a child always being the main character in each story. It is obvious that they were written in earlier times due to the frequent references to "nurse" and "not getting your boots wet". The overall feeling is of polite well-to-do families at the turn of the last century. However, children always like stories where they are the star, and the tales are imaginative. I'm sure children will still...more
This is a collection of short stories about dragons. They are written in the tone of a parent telling bedtime stories. I read the ebook version to myself, but I think one or more of my boys might enjoy them. There are certainly some laugh-out-loud funny bits and pieces, but the style is a bit stilted (perhaps true to its era?). My favorite were The Dragon Tamers, and The Heart of Gold and the Heart of Stone. What's not to love in that absurd description of a hunting herd of hippopotami? (and is...more
I finished reading this one to the children just this week. As a child, I remember being enchanted by each and every one of E. Nesbit's eight wildly imaginative stories. My own children felt the same way, asking for a new dragon story every night until we ran out. I, of course, was happy to oblige. (My voice may need a few days to recover, though. The chapters are a little long to read aloud in one sitting.)
You know that feeling of excitement you got when reading fantasy books for the first time as a little kid? This book will totally give you that feeling again! Edith Nesbit wrote these eight dragon stories over 100 years ago, and they are absolutely meant for children, yet they're written with such warmth & wit I found myself laughing out loud many times. There's a story about a dragon escaping from a book, a dragon at the north pole, a dragon who eats an entire village in one gulp, a dragon...more
I read this to my kids. Edith Nesbit is a great children's writer. She is so fanciful and fun. She really helps you feel the magic books can give. My children thoroughly enjoyed this book. Each night when I read they were always begging for another chapter. Each chapter is it's own story, instead of one long story. This was a surprise at first, but not a disappointment. Very fun stories.
Nesbit's tone is often preachy, and the narrative voice is a little patronising and didactic, but if you can ignore that, I think these stories are delightful. I liked Prince Tiresome's pack of hippos, and also, perhaps especially, all the reversals in the land of Rotundia: the buns growing on trees, the tiny elephants... Fido the tiny elephant is completely adorable.
Lovely, and bitesize.
Lovely, and bitesize.
A fantastic book!! It's very imaginative, humorous, well-written, and intriguing. I really didn't want to put it down. The book is made up of eight stories about dragons, and each story sucked me in; it would be very hard to pick favorites because they're all so good. I mean, there's even dragon repelling curtains in one of the stories!! How can you beat that??
Jan 12, 2012
Kayleigh
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-s,
fantasy
I can't stand Nesbit's writing. It's so twee and condescending. Some of these stories might actually have been fun had they not been written during a time when children were marginalized and considered stupid. Even as a child, I hated it when authors felt the need to talk down to young audiences, so this book annoyed the crap out of me.
This is collection of short stories about dragons. Some of the dragons are good and some are bad,none are scary or gruesome. This book was written in the late 1800's (I believe) and formatted for ebooks by project gutenburg. I enjoyed this book, but I think today's kids will think it a little simple. The author puts a few references to good behavior in the stories that are charming. Probably good for a child aged 10-14. There are no illustrations in this free version.
This was a great book of brief stories all dealing with dragons. They are funny fairy tales, and E. Nesbit is a masterfully clever writer. I often found myself laughing out loud at what I was reading. I think my favorite part was when the sealskin dwarves get eaten by the arctic moths.
Wonderful short stories for children about dragons. Written at the turn of the century, they have an old-fashioned British flavor that takes me back to some of my favorite children's literature: Alice's Adventures In Wonderland; Peter Pan; The Wind In the Willows; Mary Poppins; etc.
We were at the used book store. My 2 year old picked this book, and my wife put it back. She picked it up 2 or 3 more times, and it was only $1, so I figured I should buy it. It was fairly good. It is a collection of stories about dragons aimed at pre-teens.
This was a wonderful collection of short stories. And yes though ideally for children, this is meant for children of all ages. It's tales were fun, and funny. Some had lessons in them. Others were fanciful and fun. I recommend this book to anyone, young or old, that loves a good little story.
We recently read this book for bedtime and we loved it. It was one of those books that was so much fun for me to read and the kids were mesmerized with how each story was going to unfold.
Probably would work best as bedtime stories or first reads. Cute and fun like most of her books, but some of it does have that slightly-too-out-of-date feel that old children's books get.
E. Nesbit has been a favorite of mine since childhood, and I am delighted to say the stories hold up. My favorite kind of work, with sincere and fantastical story-telling for the young and the occasional witty aside slipped in for the more mature reader. "As well-plowed as any young man at Oxford," she describes the fields in one instance...
Yet another childhood favorite that escaped Mama's purge. I used to read this when I wanted to kill a few hours and it's one of my favorite of the favorites.
This was a great book of short stories that I read to the boys. I just lucked out coming across this book! It had themes to teach virtues and it was fun.
This little book has a series of eight short stories about dragons, great first book for young readers interested in dragons. Some of the dragons are blood thirsty, some eat anything, and one even becomes the pre-runner of the cat that lives in so many homes.
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Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English author and poet whose children's works were published under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a precursor to the modern Labour Par...more
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