Most kids go through a dragon phase, riding friendly dragons, slaying fierce dragons, even pretending to be dragons (friendly and fierce!). It's understandable; dragons are enchanting and powerful! They allow children to escape to an imaginary world of fantasy and magic. If your child is in the midst of a dragon obsession then these dragon books for kids, featuring both western and eastern dragon representations, are just the thing to spark the imagination.
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KING ARTHUR'S VERY GREAT-GRANDSON by Kenneth Kraegel
This is a wonderful twist on the knight adventure story. Young Henry Alfred Grummorson sets out to slay a few beasts and meets some very formidable creatures. At least they seem formidable. It just so happens that none of the mythical beasts want to do battle. They'd rather play games, make friends, blow smoke rings, that sort of thing. All in all, though, young Henry still finds it quite exciting. A marvelous story. Ages 3 and up.
MORE: Children's Books Inspired by King Arthur Legends
EAST DRAGON WEST DRAGON by Robyn Eversole, illustrated by Scott Campbell
East Dragon and West Dragon live on opposite sides of the world. East Dragon is sophisticated, West Dragon is a little rough around the edges. But then a problem of pesky knights emerges and the two dragons, at first wary of each other, join together and become friends to solve their little knight-problem. Your kids will delight in studying the amusing illustrations. Ages 4 and up.
AMY WU AND THE PATCHWORK DRAGON by Kat Zhang, illustrated by Charlene Chua
I adored this book! Amy's class listens to a story about dragons and then follows up with a craft in which they are to create their own dragons. When Amy sets out to draw her dragon, she is unsatisfied with the results, which reflect western ideas of dragon-ness. At home, her grandma's story reminds Amy of a Lunar New Year dragon costume in her attic. Amy's next idea is to build a dragon that is a patchwork of characteristics from both eastern and western dragons. Ages 4 and up.
MORE: Picture Books by Asian and Asian-American Authors
ELLIE'S DRAGON by Bob Graham
Ellie finds a newborn dragon, brings him home and names him, "Scratch." She houses him in her dollhouse and takes care of him. As Ellie grows, she takes him to school with her, but only the other children can see him, not the adults. Scratch also grows, and their relationship changes. When Ellie turns eleven, Scratch starts to fade. Then when Ellie is thirteen and completely outgrown Scratch, he finds a new child to make a home with. Ages 4 and up.
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A DRAGON by Jack Kent
Here's a great classic dragon book from 1975. Billy Bixbee finds a dragon in his room, and although his mom insists, "there's no such thing as a dragon," the dragon grows and grows! In other words, if you refuse to see the problem, it's not going to go away! My kids loved this hilarious story. Ages 3 and up.
THE KNIGHT AND THE DRAGON by Tomie dePaola
What would you rather do, fight to the death or have a BBQ? A bookish knight and a not-so scary dragon research the basics of battle. A wonderful, feel good book that demonstrates not everyone fits in a pre-ordained role. Don't forget! The Damsel-not-in-Distress knows best. Ages 3 and up.
MORE: Children's Books about Castles
THE DRAGON AND THE KNIGHT: A POP-UP MISADVENTURE by Robert Sabuda
This pop-up "misadventure" will delight dragon lovers young and old! In a collection of fairy tales, a fire-breathing dragon is chased through the pages by a marshmallow-loving knight. Throughout the pages, the pair literally "pop-up," making the story harder and harder to read. Of course it's not really about the fairy tale collection, it's all about the knight and dragon's game of tag. Immense fun. Ages 5 and up.
DEAR DRAGON: A PEN PAL TALE by Josh Funk, illustrated by Rodolfo Montalvo
George the boy and Blair the dragon become pen pals when their respective school classrooms give out an assignment to write letters. The catch? The letters must rhyme. The pair become friends through their creative letter writing endeavor and when they finally meet, each is mightily impressed with the other. Not only are the letters fun to read aloud, but the illustrations are delightful. Ages 4 and up.
AGAIN! by Emily Gravett
Emily Gravett is one of my favorite picture book authors. Her metafictional texts are inventive and imaginative. In this one, a little dragon wants his favorite bedtime story again and again and again. When his weary mother (can you relate?) can no longer keep her eyes open, he takes matters into his own hands, with surprising results. Ages 3 and up.
MORE: Metafiction in Children's Books
DRAGON WAS TERRIBLE by Kelly Dipucchio, illustrated by Greg Pizzoli
Kids will love this amusing dragon story! Dragon is a terribly misbehaving dragon and the king has had enough! He offers a reward to whomever can tame the dragon. None of the knights who step up are successful, so the village turns to ordinary folks. But the dragon continues to grow more and more terrible. Not until a local boy demonstrates the magic of storytelling does the dragon show signs of calming down. Will it work? You'll have to read and find out. Ages 3 and up.
HAVE YOU SEEN MY DRAGON? by Steve Light
Find it: Your Library | Amazon
What could be more glorious to a kid than the idea of a dragon on the loose in the city? Incredibly detailed drawings take readers on a journey all over the metropolis with a boy looking for his dragon. Kids will love spotting the dragon experiencing the delights of the city, as they count from one to twenty. Finally, in Chinatown, the boy locates his friend. Ages 3 and up.
More books about mythical creatures:
Steph says
Oh boy, are we into dragons around here! Cole just got Dragons Love Tacos for his birthday and it was an instant hit. Thanks for this great list, I added several to his wish list!
Momand Kiddo says
There's just something about dragons that is so magical, it's hard not to love them.
Jenny K says
This is a great list! We'll be checking some of these out soon!
Momand Kiddo says
Thanks, I'm sure you'll find something you like!
Amy@Let's Explore says
My girls are so into dragons right now - I just put a bunch of these on hold at the library! 🙂
Both my girls enjoyed The Dragon in the Sock Drawer and the following books in the series.
Thanks for the great dragon book round-up!
Momand Kiddo says
Oh, that's one I haven't heard of, thanks for the suggestion!
Lauren says
My first comment on your blog! And I was drawn out of lurk-dom by seeing 'There's No Such Thing as a Dragon' on your list! A book I've held on to since childhood 🙂 Check out A Book of Dragons by E. Nesbit (of '5 Children and It' and 'The Railway Children') for a great old-fashioned set of stories.
Thanks for your great blog!
Momand Kiddo says
Yeah! I love it when people come out of lurk-dom! Thanks for the suggestion, I actually have Nesbit's book on hold at the library and can't wait to read it, I love her stories.
Kristina says
I am currently reading "My Father's Dragon" to my 5 year old; he gets so bummed that I only read 2 chapters at a time! I'll have to check out these other ones you've mentioned! Thanks for the list!
Momand Kiddo says
My kids always try to get me to read "just one more chapter", too!
Raising a Happy Child says
Wow, this is quite an anthology of dragon books! I had no idea that there are so many. I'd better pin this post and let it evolve 🙂 Thanks for joining WMCIR and, by the way, the linky is fixed now.
toady mama says
What a great list. Thanks! We also love Margaret Hodges Saint George and the Dragon. Her illustrations are beautiful and you notice something new in the margins every time.
Momand Kiddo says
We haven't read that one, thanks for the suggestion.
A Teacher Without a Class says
Dragon Slayers Academy! FUN!!!
Momand Kiddo says
Thanks for the suggestion!
Melissa @ Honey Bee Books says
So many fabulous dragon books! There are lots that we haven't read yet, so my wish list just got a little longer! Thanks for the dragon inspiration 🙂
Meagan Frank says
What a great compilation of dragon picture books. We have one too: Cedric and the Dragon is a great dragon book that inspires kids to be compassionate and accepting of differences. It is a Mom's Choice gold medal winner too. http://www.elvaresa.com/pressCedric.html
Tanath says
I know this is an old post, I just had to add another to the list. Goodnight, Dragons by Judith L. Roth. My daughter loves it, and we've been making a lot of dragon cocoa.
Erica MomandKiddo says
Thanks for the recommendation!
esivy says
This is a great list! Three of my daughter's all time favorites are in the chapter books.
Caryn says
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this fabulous list! Working on a storytime for an after-school reading group and this jump-started so many ideas. Awesome!
Ingrid says
I just found your list of dragon-themed books and my just turned 6 and 8-year olds are LOVING "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon". Thank you for the great recommendation. Now... I'm a preschool teacher who needs some dinosaur-themed book ideas for 4 and 5-year olds. Any suggestions? Did your own dragon lovers ever have a dinosaur phase ? 🙂
Julie says
Great list. My middle loves dragons. He is going into second grade and has just started reading chapter books. His favorite series right now is the Dragon Master series by Tracy West. They are short books with big print and pictures to match the text as well as short chapters. He feels as if he is a big kid reading them.
Erica says
My son also loves the Dragon Master series.
Twaddle Free Family says
I second Saint George and the Dragon with illustrations by Margaret Hodges. Absolutely stunning! Also a very new book by Brandon Hale is the 3rd book in a series, Prince Martin and the Dragons. Incredible shortish chapter books for middle readers but my 6year old is obsessed with dragons and LOVES me to read it out loud. The other two in the series are fantastic as well and are excellent for enforcing bravery, doing whatis right and loyalty. If you read it be prepared for a surprise!!!
Erica says
Thanks for sharing your favorites.
Jenny Panameno says
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is one of my top 5 favorite books ever!! I love it.
I really enjoyed the Dragon Slippers series by Jessica Day George.
Kim Blair says
I am dying to find out if a memory is just in my imagination or real - it concerns a book about a Dragon that might have been from the 1960's or even earlier as I had it at that time. I'm wondering if it might have been called The Lonely Dragon or something similar.(My research has shown there is a book by that name but it's much more current). Not even sure that;s what it was called. All I really remember was an illustration of a sad dragon. He had his tail tucked under him, his head was down and he might have been crying even. Very sad. But hoping it had a happier finish. Again, not sure of the title but that was the theme. Do you have ant thoughts or any other avenues to pursue. Thanks so much if you can help.
Erica says
Hi Kim, There is an illustration like that in Marigold and the Dragon, but other than that, the description doesn't ring a bell.