R. Dragon, © Donna Miskend, watercolor
And now for the lighter side. I love doing the the elaborate borders, but I also like to work in a simpler style. He's the dragon in Kenneth Grahame's The Reluctant Dragon, who prefers poetry to dragon-like behaviour. You may know Grahame's other popular work, The Wind And The Willows. But don't miss this little gem too. The townspeople hear there's a dragon nearby and rush to call on the dragonslayer. But a young boy knows better. He knows all about dragons, and goes to see for himself. What he finds is a dragon who loves poetry, nature, and wants to live in peace. Yep, appearances are deceiving, and now it's up to the young boy to save the dragon. It's a wonderful story.
I couldn't decide between the 2 books chosen to inspire 18 illustrators for CBIG's exhibit Dragons & Magic on view at the Jefferson Market Library through October. But as the September theme on our web site is dragons, in the end I could do both.
