Trouble With Dragons

by Oliver G. Selfridge, Shirley Hughes (Illustrator)

Three sisters take turns at slaying a dragon (who can lay sapphire eggs after eating a princess) in order to win the hand of the prince.

Genres: Fantasy

86 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1978

Reviews

[Mat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book. I read it out loud to my four children. They really enjoyed it.

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whomever can slay a dragon (any dragon, there appear to me plenty) gets to marry the prince. Three sister princesses go to try their luck. However, the odds are stacked against them by... uh, corrupt business interests, as it turns out. This is kind of an unusual story and reads a bit more like a short story with illustrations than like a standard picture book. There is a lot of text and two of the characters die so it may be better for older children.



The illustrations are in a realistic style and are quite good. It's a tad odd to see the familiar Shirley Hughes faces on princesses instead of contemporary English families.

[Sukie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so hard to find, and it's a shame, because the unique spin on a classic dragon tale is a worthwhile addition to the faerie-tale universe. The dragons are terrifying and unique; the princesses are admirable and strong; the story is unexpected. I highly recommend making the effort to track this down.

[Kellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange tale of a prince, princesses, dragons, and a fairy-godmother. The strangeness occurred when it talked of the princesses wearing t-shirts & jeans of the taking of photos, but it still seemed like it was taking place way back in a fairytale-ish time. The illustrations were great though and the story interesting, nonetheless.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Princess Celia must slay a ferocious dragon in order to marry a prince. Her two older sisters have already tried and failed, but heeding the advice of a kindly fairy godmother, Celia turns the dragon on itself.