9781467763141
When a king discovers that there are still singing moon dragons high up on the mountainside, he offers a room full of gold to anyone who can bring one to him. The beautiful dancing dragons only reveal themselves to Alina, a young peasant girl, but she preserves the secret of their whereabouts, knowing that there are some things far more precious than a room full of gold.
If you are going to have a picture book about dragons, you MUST have better-than-average illustrations. Blythe fits the bill quite nicely. Although only three pages actually have dragons on them, they are appropriately ethereal. The girl is lovely and innocent, the courtiers fleshy, and I like the angling of some of the scenes - particularly the pages where the angry king is framed by the innocent lamb and the fleeing cat, but the huntsmen's feet are the only parts seen. Where he really shines, however, is in the scenery. The misty acrylics make it easy to believe that this is, indeed, a place where dragons might be found.
The telling of the story is a bit abbreviated, and more could have been done there, but the moral of relative value is sound - and, we can all do with the lesson that there are times it is best to walk away and hold our tongues, rather than correct someone else's perceptions of us. (That one smarted, didn't it?)
A pretty book with definite cover appeal!
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