EXPANDING HORIZONS with DRAGONS
Where can you fly through portals, confront monsters, make dragons your friends, adventure alongside amicable beasts, and be saved from danger by ingenuity, a little luck, and a good dose of knowledge? In books, of course. To celebrate the magnificent Taniwha landing, here’s a selection of books from our shelves.
Gavin Bishop’s books are always excellent. His new picture book, Taniwha, is a wonderful collection of pākūrau to expand your horizons, of creatures monstrous and tricky, as well as kaitiaki — protectors of people and the land and sea. Here you will find Tuhirangi who travelled with Kupe and lives in the depths of Te Moana a Raukawa, the tale of Moremore, son of Pania, who takes the shape of a shark, and the different natures of Whātaitai and Ngake — the taniwha of Te Whanganui o Tara. Beware the hunger of Tūtaeporoporo and the rage of Hotupuku. Superb illustrations, a glossary, and splendid story-telling.
If dragons are your game, look no further than Dragonkeeper by Carole Wilkinson. Set in the Han Dynasty, a slave girl finds out she is descended from a long line of dragonkeepers. Adventures ensue as Ping is set a great quest by an ancient dragon — a quest that will require bravery and heart. Along the way Ping will discover talents she possesses which will surprise not only her, but those she encounters on her journey.
(This is the first in an excellent series.)
Impossible Creatures: The Poisoned King is not to be missed nor triffled with. Head through the portal to a world of magical creatures, danger and intrigue. Well-paced action, humour, and emotional complexities make the nuanced writing of best-sellling author Katherine Rundell hard to put down. Open this book to a map of islands surrounded by mythical ceatures, and a warning!
“They would have said it wasn’t possible. They would have said she didn’t have it in her. It was in her, but deep. What’s under your house, if you were to dig? Mud and worms. Buried treasure. Skeletons. You don’t know. The girl dug into the depth of her heart and there she found a hunger for justice, and a thirst for revenge.”
Irresistible!
If you like graphic novels, Young Hag from the wonderful illustrator and writer Isabel Greenberg is a delight. It’s an alternative Britain of dragons and wizards, but the magic is fading. When a changeling is discovered in the woods, Young Hag, the youngest in her family of witches, is sent on a quest to discover the source of these magical problems. Greenberg ingeniously reinvents the women in Arthurian legend, transforming the tales of old into a heart-warming coming-of-age story.
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin is now available as a graphic novel. Thoughtfully adapted by illustrator Fred Foreman, this will appeal to fans of the classic and those new to it.
Ged is on the path to being a mage, but to do so he must master his powers and confront a shadow-beast which he has let loose when toying with spells beyond his ability. Foreman captures the complexities of this coming-of-age story bringing the darkness and light of Le Guin’s story onto the page with a brooding colour palette, sweeping vistas, raw emotion, and visual details of the magical and natural world.
