The truth about dragons

Dragons are in the eye of the beholder in this solo debut. Zollars lures readers in with a suspenseful scene of a girl approaching a misty, turreted castle filled with them: "The stories about dragons are true," the narrator intones. The beasts come closer as the child cowers: "Dragons tower and hover and smother." A page turn reveals a tone-changing fact: "their socks don't always match." Dragons, it emerges, are a lot like children, raucous in the cafeteria and loud in the library. Little by little, the illustrated creatures morph into human children, now the girl's peers. One spread shows a dragon with a soccer ball bearing down on the girl and her companions. A page turn visualizes his point of view: he's a human boy, and she's the dragon. Zollars's use of evocative action verbs ("they swagger and crow") makes for taut descriptions, while the transformation of objects (dragon skin becomes human clothing, the towers prove a playground castle) provides food for thought in this exploration of how people perceive those they don't know--and how wrong those perceptions can be. Ages 4--8. Agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (Sept.)

Dragons are real. Dragons are terrifying. Dragons are everywhere. The unnamed protagonist, pale-skinned and clad in purple boots, brown corduroy knickers, and a red jacket, seems to be surrounded by dragons. They roam wild, showing their sharp teeth, hovering over everything, waiting to smother. In the beginning the protagonist appears very small, posed against a castle backdrop with large, menacing dragons looming in deep mists of purples, soft browns, and greens. But then the child starts noticing some anomalies. The mist lifts, colors brighten, and lines sharpen. The castle is gone, replaced by a school setting. The dragons are closer to a child's size and have hands instead of claws. Some are wearing mismatched socks, devouring food in a cafeteria, making noise in the library, and even creating music. Soon many have human bodies and faces, diverse in skin tone. The protagonist becomes part of the group, playing together and challenging the few dragons that remain, even daring to be dragonlike when necessary. In a perfectly seamless blending, the text is spare and beautifully descriptive, focused entirely on dragons and their characteristics, while the illustrations depict the action and the child's changing reactions. Sharp-eyed young readers will catch on quickly as they are led in entirely unexpected directions, interpreting the child's circumstance as anxiety on the first day of school or perhaps at a new school. Children and their grown-ups can choose this one again and again when faced with new situations. A beautifully rendered, comforting, gentle lesson in overcoming fears. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.