The Reluctant Dragon

Publisher Marketing: The story takes place in the Berkshire Downs in Oxfordshire (where the author lived and where, according to legend, St George did fight a dragon). It is Grahame's most famous short story. It is arguably better known than Dream Days itself or the related The Golden Age. It can be seen as a prototype to most modern stories in which the dragon is a sympathetic character rather than a threat. In Grahame's story, a young boy discovers an erudite, poetry-loving dragon living in the Downs above his home. The two become friends, but soon afterwards the dragon is discovered by the townsfolk, who send for St George to rid them of it. The boy introduces St George to the dragon, and the two decide that it would be better for them not to fight. Eventually, they decide to stage a fake joust between the two combatants. As the two have planned, St George harmlessly spears the dragon through a shallow fold of skin suggested by the dragon, and the townsfolk rejoice (though not all of them, as some had placed bets on the dragon winning). St George then proclaims that the dragon is reformed in character, and he assures the townsfolk that the dragon is not dangerous. So the dragon is then accepted by the people. Review Citations: Kirkus Review - Children 03/01/2004 pg. 229 (EAN 9780439455817, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 04/12/2004 pg. 65 (EAN 9780439455817, Hardcover) School Library Journal 05/01/2004 pg. 122 (EAN 9780439455817, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2004 pg. 358 (EAN 9780439455817, Hardcover) New York Times 10/17/2004 pg. 21 (EAN 9780439455817, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2004 pg. 358 (EAN 9780439455817, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/2005 pg. 60 (EAN 9780439455817, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/2006 pg. 755 (EAN 9780439455817, Hardcover) Booklist 08/01/2004 pg. 1942 (EAN 9780763621995, Hardcover) New York Times 10/17/2004 pg. 21 (EAN 9780763621995, Hardcover) School Library Journal 11/01/2004 pg. 104 (EAN 9780763621995, Hardcover) - *Starred Review School Library Journal 04/01/2005 pg. 38 (EAN 9780763621995, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/2005 pg. 54 (EAN 9780763621995, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2005 pg. 274 (EAN 9780763621995, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/1991 pg. 492 (EAN 9780823407552, Paperback) Wilson Children's Catalog 96 01/01/1996 pg. 540 (EAN 9780823407552, Paperback) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/2001 pg. 463 (EAN 9780823407552, Paperback) Publishers Weekly 04/14/1989 (EAN 9780823407552, Paperback) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/2006 pg. 681 (EAN 9780823407552, Paperback) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/1991 pg. 492 (EAN 9780823400935, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 96 01/01/1996 pg. 540 (EAN 9780823400935, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/2001 pg. 463 (EAN 9780823400935, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/2006 pg. 681 (EAN 9780823400935, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/0001 pg. 1022 (EAN 9780823400935, Hardcover) School Library Journal 02/01/1988 (EAN 9780816710607, Paperback) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/1991 pg. 492 (EAN 9780805011128, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 96 01/01/1996 pg. 540 (EAN 9780805011128, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/1991 pg. 492 (EAN 9780805008029, Paperback) Wilson Children's Catalog 96 01/01/1996 pg. 540 (EAN 9780805008029, Paperback) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/2001 pg. 463 (EAN 9780805008029, Paperback) Publishers Weekly 02/26/1988 (EAN 9780805008029, Paperback) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/2006 pg. 681 (EAN 9780805008029, Paperback) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2014 pg. 61 (EAN 9780823428205, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Grahame, Kenneth Kenneth Grahame was a Scottish writer best-known for his celebrated children s novel, The Wind in the Willows. Prevented from attending university because of financial constraints, Grahame instead took a job with the Bank of England, which provided the financial security required to indulge his passion for writing. Many of Grahame s short stories were printed in the periodicals of the time, and were also later collected in Pagan Papers, The Golden Age, and Dream Days. Grahame s most famous work, the novel The Wind in the Willows, was originally conceived as a bedtime story for his son, and continues to be a beloved classic for children of all ages. Grahame died in 1932 at the age of 73. Contributor Bio:  Classics, 510 Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 - 13 August 1946), known primarily as H. G. Wells, was a prolific English writer in many genres, including the novel, history, politics, and social commentary, and textbooks and rules for war games. He is now best remembered for his science fiction novels, and Wells is called the father of science fiction, along with Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback. His most notable science fiction works include The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898). Wells's earliest specialized training was in biology, and his thinking on ethical matters took place in a specifically and fundamentally Darwinian context. He was also from an early date an outspoken socialist, often (but not always, as at the beginning of the First World War) sympathizing with pacifist views. His later works became increasingly political and didactic, and he wrote little science fiction, while he sometimes indicated on official documents that his profession was that of journalist. Novels like Kipps and The History of Mr. Polly, which describe lower-middle-class life, led to the suggestion, when they were published, that he was a worthy successor to Charles Dickens, but Wells described a range of social strata and even attempted, in Tono-Bungay (1909), a diagnosis of English society as a whole.