The Who Painted Dragons
Award-winning children’s book author and illustrator Demi introduces children the magical world of dragons in THE BOY WHO PAINTED DRAGONS. Demi has published over 300 books over the span of her career, and in THE BOY WHO PAINTED DRAGONS she tells a moving tale of a boy named Ping who paints dragons to conceal his fear of them.
Ping sees an image of a big scary dragon and in an attempt to conquer his fear of this dragon he starts to paint dragons. He covers the walls of his home with gorgeous paintings of dragons and when his friends ask if he fears them he lies and says he is not. When the dragon up in heaven sees Ping’s paintings he decides to pay him a visit to thank him, not realizing that Ping paints the dragons out of fear. When the huge Heavenly Dragon arrives Ping is terrified and hides under a chair. To help him conquer his fear the Heavenly Dragon gives Ping three pearls of wisdom. With these pearls of wisdom Ping is able to face his fears and learn to love the dragons.
The book is filled with beautiful paintings that are sure to entice any child to flip through its pages. Demi includes gold and silver foil in the paintings which makes images jump off the page. Some of the pages fold out to include more expansive paintings and add to the beauty of the book, but should be handled with care so as not to damage the book.
The story is based on Chinese mythology and is full of lessons for children ages five to ten can enjoy. With explosive imagery and a bold but simple message, confront your fears and learn to conquer them, children will love THE BOY WHO PAINTED DRAGONS. Additionally, if your child enjoys this tale, Demi has written another children’s book with a female protagonist, THE GIRL WHO DREW A PHOENIX.
CRITICS HAVE SAID
- “Much lovely writing to savor and wisdom that the audience will recognize.” —Publishers Weekly
IF YOU LOVE THIS BOOK, THEN TRY:
- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, 2007
- Crickwing by Janell Cannon 2005
- The Empty Pot by Demi, 1996