Hope, Christopher

New York. 1985. Atheneum. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Dustjacket. 0689311753. Illustrated by Angela Barrett. unpaginated. hardcover. Jacket illustration by Angela Barrett. keywords: Children's Books . FROM THE PUBLISHER - There were very few dragons left. And the few that were around had forgotten how to fly, and their wings had withered away. Their fires had grown cold. All they had left was their great strength. It was a very different time from the days when dragons were feared. But then came a small orphan egg that hatched into a young dragon named Tarquin. It was a brave name, but the dragon who bore it did not seem like other dragons, not like the dragons of the present, and certainly not like the dragons of the past. He was fond of singing. And he liked flowers. Grand Hector, who tried to teach Tarquin to roar and to glare, finally gave up. There was nothing to do with Tarquin but send him to work in town. ‘You will hate town,' one of the dragons told him. It was surrounded by a wall the dragons had built. The wall was to keep dragons inside during the day and outside at night. Inside, the dragons hauled logs, dug ditches, built roads, cleared away the rubbish and transported goods from warehouses to stores. They were very useful. But people did not really like them. Dragons were not allowed on buses or in the parks or in the stores. And they had to go outside the town at night. All of this might have gone on forever, if Tarquin had not met Ellie, a little girl who actually liked dragons. Neither Tarquin nor Ellie were like others of their kind. But they did have a lot in common. And when the two got together, especially when Tarquin showed signs of growing wings and breathing fire, things changed. inventory #46250 ISBN: 0689311753.