SOLVED. Children's book about a boy who is bullied by a group of teens and he either is helped by or turns into a dragon and grabs the bullies and flies them around. [s]

[Monika]

It happens in the film version of Michael Ende's Neverending Story, but not in the book itself...

[Mai]

Hello fellow citizen of the Earth! :-)

Searching online I found a book that fits your description. It's Eye Of The Monster by Michael Dahl and illustrated by Federico Piatti (published in 2010).


After being beaten up by a gang of older boys on a street in Tokyo, Ren discovers that he can transform into a ferocious dragon. He swoops through the sky and scoops two of his assailants up in his large talons. But instead of harming them, he releases them on the ground in a gesture of forgiveness. Piatti’s illustrations have an excellent play of light, darkness, and shadow, lending an impressionistic quality to some pages, a cinematic feel to others.
(reviews here: https://www.capstonepub.com/library/p...)

[SBC]

Your description reminds me of Bruce Coville's Russell Troy, Monster Boy (previously published as The Monster's Ring, which is a slightly different version of the book). I don't think he turns into a dragon, precisely, but the book does have a theme about using his powers to get back at a bully and I think I remember him flying the bully around to teach him a lesson.

[Mai]

That makes me really happy! I hope you enjoy rereading this book and, if I remember correctly, it said that there's more than one book.