The guardian of dragons, “Curatoria Draconis” introduces itself as “the last in a long line of sworn allies of a secret society to protect all dragons”. For her plan to protect the last dragons and their habitats, she has called together a crew of experts as crew members on her ship, a kind of ark, so that they can give refuge to the last dragons from all over the world on various decks. There is only one type of dragon missing from the ark: the Tian Long, the mysterious sky dragon, which you have to find before it becomes extinct.
The Croatian illustrator Tomislav Tomic accompanies this exciting fairy tale about the last dragons in magnificent, old-master-looking images, often spanning pages, and amazes viewers time and again with numerous fascinating details. The dragons from all parts of the world are presented with introductory maps, lots of information and magnificent pictures. Will the “guardian of dragons” and her team succeed in fulfilling their mission and find the last living sky dragon, Tian Long? (from 8 years)
Curatonia Draconis / Tomislav Tomic: The guardian of dragons. Translated from the English by Ute Löwenberg. Prestel, 2021. 75 pages, 26.00 euros
Modern science has solved many puzzles that haunted our ancestors, but there are still many questions about the legendary characters and magical mythical and animal creatures across cultures and ages and their historical and traditional facts. So it’s fun to recall them again or to get to know them again and to read how they are located in their respective cultures. We have all heard or read about unicorns, elves, witches, mermaids, the werewolf or the legendary yeti. But what can we imagine by a “Dirawong”, a “Chupacabra” or an Itzpapalotl “? The author Stephen Krensky has collected stories from all over the world from over sixty” Magical Mythical Creatures “and presents them to his readers in entertaining stories The Vietnamese graphic artist Pham Quang Phuc painted colorful pictures for this. (From 8 years)
Stephan Krensky / Pham Quang Phuc (Ill.): Magical mythical creatures and mythical creatures – Of dragons, witches and water spirits. Dorling Kindersley, 2021. 160 pages, 16.95 euros
In the foreword to her unicorn encyclopedia, author and illustrator Judith Drews describes these magical animals as the noblest of all mythical creatures and claims that they still live in our forests, but that few people are still able to see them. She now presents these special beings to the astonished observer on colorful cardboard sides. From 1000 year old depictions on cave walls to antique mosaics to their mentions in the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. They can also be found as heraldic animals, on postage stamps and coins, and time and again they have sparked people’s imagination and inspired stories. Of course, unicorns have enemies too, but all forest animals are their friends, and especially the children whose dreams they protect!
This lovable book ends with an appeal to take good care of the forests so that the unicorn and its magic do not disappear completely. Its colorful, spirited illustrations invite you to look over and over again. (From 6 years and for the whole family)
Judith Drews: The Unicorn Encyclopedia. Jacoby & Stuart, 2021. 124 pages, 16.00 euros.