The last dragon emerges from its egg, wreaking havoc on a the inhabitants of a small town. A young girl is forced to grow up faster than expected when her father disappears. A man who plays "hero" is forced to follow through on his promise. A more mature tale than I was expecting from Yolen, a few of the illustrations are bit much for my middle school shelves. ( )

Meh. ( )

Everyone knows that all the dragons are gone. They were killed off years and years ago. Before that they wrecked havoc on people, the sweetest meat. But heroes came and killed them all.

But in the town of Meddlesome something is stirring. The herbalist has gone missing. A baby has been stolen from his cradle, and all over the island sheep and cattle are going missing. Finally the truth come out. Hundreds of years after the dragons were believed extinct, one has returned! A hero is needed before this last dragon rises and attacks again.

I loved the artwork in this book. It really is gorgeous. You can see more from the artist on her site http://www.rebeccaguay.com/. And the story isn’t too shabby either.

I liked it, although I never quite loved it, it is well worth a read. Although I prefer when my dragons are the fearsome all devouring beasts but have some personality. In this book the dragon is the monster, the adversary to be overcome. And a terrifying and scary monster he is. That is just a personal preference. As a whole I felt that the story just didn’t tie together totally. From the prologue bit I thought we were going to sympathise with the dragons, but then they turned into the bad guys. So I’m not sure about that aspect. But it is worth it for the artwork alone.

http://www.susanhatedliterature.net/2012/05/the-last-dragon/ ( )

Absolutely gorgeous art for a simple - perhaps too simple - fairy tale. ( )

Pretty good premise, and excellent illustrations! Recommended for people who enjoy Dragon stories ( )