Saturday, September 6, 2014

Mythical Monsters Live Forever In Every Childrens Book About Dragons

By Mattie MacDonald


Dragons, those huge, scary mythical beasts with wings and fire-lashing forked tongues that can devour anything in their path, are popular figures in children's books. These creatures with their magic powers are what fantasy is about . . . And who can relate better to fantasy than kids?

Everybody has heard one or more stories about dragons. Young boys dream of slaying the monster and earning knighthood for saving a damsel in distress from the evil dragon. Young girls normally swoon over the fantasy prince in fairy tales who wins the hand of the beautiful, captive princess by slaying the dreaded monster. Almost every childrens book about dragons feature an impressive phantom monster with supernatural skills that appeals to their vivid imagination.

Dragons must have some very special qualities to make them so popular. Young and old enjoy dragon stories. One can only wonder why mankind remain so intrigued by a phantom character that is not even real.

Aah, says who? Never tell a kid that dragons do NOT exist and are NOT real. Kids have mystical powers and sensory abilities that grownups have lost . . . And that's why only THEY can see and hear the great many dragons living among us.

Dragons come in many shapes and sizes. Some are kind, some are bad. They can be gentle giants, or cruel, man-eating monsters. In the realm where giants live, there are no human laws or limits - it's a dragon dreamworld!

Today, there are literally a whole world of dragons for kids to play with and read about. Popular characters in the dragon world, such as Puff, the Magic Dragon, pop up like magic in video games, coloring books, pencil boxes, TV programs, puzzles, stickers and even on candy wrappers. Dragon lovers can take their favorite hero everywhere with them - even to bed in the form of a dragon doll or a printed duvet cover and pillow case! Children can even check out all facts about them on a new Kids Wikipedia about Dragons.

The illustrators of children's books have a ball portraying these huge creatures in various ways. Some dragons have long, thick tails with which they can sweep a whole city away. Some have horns and huge, sharp, pointed teeth. Their huge, claw-like feet can have 3,4 or 5 toes. There is no specific blueprint to indicate what a real dragon truly looks like, and thus children can give free rein to their fantasies when they draw, color or read about them. This lead to a wonderful, colorful variety of dragon caricatures featuring different personalities, trends and traits.

No grownup has ever seen a baby dragon being born, but kids know they are hatched from huge eggs! Sweet-faced, cute baby dragons are popular characters in children's books and often grow up to become the heroes that slay their evil peers. Like in the real world, the battle between good and bad also exists in the dragon world.

It is still a mystery where dragons come from and where they live. Tales from the Middle Ages portray them as cruel, blood-thirsty land dwelling man eaters. In the days of Christopher Columbus, it was believed that they live in the sea. Most dragons have huge wings, indicating that they might even live somewhere up high in the sky or on another planet from where they watch and visit us.

Do these magical creatures stem from exaggerated myths about huge snakes, lizards and dinosaurs, or are they real and only visible to children? Who knows? One thing is for sure: mankind has always, throughout history, been fascinated by dragons and the thousands of children's books about dragons that are still being published today, prove that they are still alive and well . . . And probably will be with us forever!




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