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FACING, FIGHTING, & DEFEATING The Green Dragon of Greed: The Chronicles of Sir Rolland Paterlot
146 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 15, 2025
I'm four books into this series. I wish I could rave about it because I love the idea of presenting sins as dragons and giving kids the tools to fight them. And there is a lot to like. The spiritual wisdom from the Fr. Thomas character is wonderful and includes analogies to simplify some difficult concepts. The dragon slaying maxims have powerful advice, and connecting the weapons to fight the dragons with corresponding virtues is a great idea.
But the stories used to showcase these ideas are, while generally entertaining, also somewhat confusing. Rolland and his family move to a special island where no one uses electricity so that he can learn to be a dragon slayer (ie become Catholic). Is electricity a sin or is this a poorly defined metaphor for being in the world and not of the world? They move here after the death of his father, even though his father apparently worked on this island without him knowing that. Were they not Catholic before? The sins appear in Rolland's dreams as real dragons, which is a good manifestation of the conscience at work. In class, the kids discuss the dragons as representative of the sins, but then they are presented with physical weapons to battle them. I like this idea, but I think it might be confusing for a lot of kids. I don't like that Rolland's family is largely absent from his stories, at least this far. Each book begins with an explanation of how parents are the best teachers of the faith. Rolland's mom shows up only once or twice in each book to maybe wake him up for school or something. In the sloth book, he leaves an egg rotting in his bedroom for at least six months without her ever noticing. That's unrealistic at best, neglectful at worst. A younger brother is mentioned in the first book. Sometime in book two or three, we learn Rolland actually has three brothers. But at the end of book four, we still don't know if they are older or younger. None of them even walk to school with him. I also don't like the QR codes sprinkled throughout the books. Having extra resources is great, and I'm definitely not opposed to a link at the end. But why do we have books encouraging kids to pick up a device instead every other chapter? There is a pretty picture at the start of each chapter. But after my son pointed out some oddities (candles that glow from the wax rather than the wick, arches that don't line up, etc.) we suspect these pictures are at least partially the work of AI, and that is disappointing.
Despite my complaints, I still recommend these books, or at least the first four that I've read. I wanted to be specific about what I considered flaws so other parents would know whether or not those are things that would bother them. The Catholic content is rock solid and presents a summary of all the dragons at the end of each book. This series is a good tool for teaching occasionally difficult concepts about sin and how to fight temptation.
But the stories used to showcase these ideas are, while generally entertaining, also somewhat confusing. Rolland and his family move to a special island where no one uses electricity so that he can learn to be a dragon slayer (ie become Catholic). Is electricity a sin or is this a poorly defined metaphor for being in the world and not of the world? They move here after the death of his father, even though his father apparently worked on this island without him knowing that. Were they not Catholic before? The sins appear in Rolland's dreams as real dragons, which is a good manifestation of the conscience at work. In class, the kids discuss the dragons as representative of the sins, but then they are presented with physical weapons to battle them. I like this idea, but I think it might be confusing for a lot of kids. I don't like that Rolland's family is largely absent from his stories, at least this far. Each book begins with an explanation of how parents are the best teachers of the faith. Rolland's mom shows up only once or twice in each book to maybe wake him up for school or something. In the sloth book, he leaves an egg rotting in his bedroom for at least six months without her ever noticing. That's unrealistic at best, neglectful at worst. A younger brother is mentioned in the first book. Sometime in book two or three, we learn Rolland actually has three brothers. But at the end of book four, we still don't know if they are older or younger. None of them even walk to school with him. I also don't like the QR codes sprinkled throughout the books. Having extra resources is great, and I'm definitely not opposed to a link at the end. But why do we have books encouraging kids to pick up a device instead every other chapter? There is a pretty picture at the start of each chapter. But after my son pointed out some oddities (candles that glow from the wax rather than the wick, arches that don't line up, etc.) we suspect these pictures are at least partially the work of AI, and that is disappointing.
Despite my complaints, I still recommend these books, or at least the first four that I've read. I wanted to be specific about what I considered flaws so other parents would know whether or not those are things that would bother them. The Catholic content is rock solid and presents a summary of all the dragons at the end of each book. This series is a good tool for teaching occasionally difficult concepts about sin and how to fight temptation.
March 16, 2025
I think this is my favorite book in the series.
Dragon Slayer Maxim for Argyros, the Green Dragon of Greed: "If you let the dragons hover near, beware the dragons may disappear."
BATTLE CRY FOR ARGYROS
Beware of the dragon all dressed in green,
He is big and he tempts you to a heart full of greed.
He'll sell you his lie that more stuff gives you life,
But to covet more things just brings death, grief, and strife.
True happiness comes from a generous heart,
The troubadour from Assisi is a good place to start.
He gave up his wealth, just gave it away,
Then started an order that still thrives today.
The Breastplate of Righteousness guards hearts on this earth,
To seek treasure in heaven, a far greater worth.
Quotes! ⬇️
Dragon Slayer Maxim for Argyros, the Green Dragon of Greed: "If you let the dragons hover near, beware the dragons may disappear."
BATTLE CRY FOR ARGYROS
Beware of the dragon all dressed in green,
He is big and he tempts you to a heart full of greed.
He'll sell you his lie that more stuff gives you life,
But to covet more things just brings death, grief, and strife.
True happiness comes from a generous heart,
The troubadour from Assisi is a good place to start.
He gave up his wealth, just gave it away,
Then started an order that still thrives today.
The Breastplate of Righteousness guards hearts on this earth,
To seek treasure in heaven, a far greater worth.
Quotes! ⬇️
"When we make sin a habit, we don't even realize it is a sin anymore."
"God doesn't call the equipped. He equips the called."
July 22, 2025
The fourth deadly sin, the sin of greed. This was another wonderful installment in the 7 Deadly Dragon (sins) series. So much fun and the illustrations are awesome.
Buy them for any young people in your life.
Buy them for any young people in your life.
August 28, 2024
Another great book in the series!
April 5, 2025
Another entertaining and educational tale in this series on virtue and the seven deadly sins. Great family reading.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews