Dragon Slayers

Gr 4–7—A black, leathery cover adorned only with the silhouette of a knight in black against a red medallion gives Dragon Slayers an enticing appearance. The lengthy subtitle promises adventure and excitement. Inside, colorful pages host a text in a variety of engaging fonts and numerous full-page cartoon illustrations. The excited narrator, Sir Wyvern Pugilist, addresses readers directly in the style made popular by Lemony Snicket and Pseudonymous Bosch. In the opening pages, he provides instructions on how to use the book, admonishing readers that they must make a "firm decision" to become a Dragon Slayer. Then it's on to chapter two, where readers will quickly realize that something funny is going on. The "dragons" the narrator is so excited about are not dragons at all, but sins and vices, arranged in categories and given pun-heavy names like Slackbottom (laziness, procrastination) and Stinkmouth (gossip, badmouthing). A Dragon Slayer must battle these vices in service of the Mighty One, or the Christian God. "Armor and Weapons" includes prayer, faith, forgiveness, and love. A "Compendium of Dragon Slayers of Old" (Francis of Assisi, Ignatius Loyola, and others) completes the book. While the volume is effectively packaged to appeal to adolescent boys, there is some question as to whether they will stick with the frantic and somewhat heavy-handed narration once they catch on to the allegory.—Eliza Langhans, Hatfield Public Library, MA