A Practical Guide to Dragons

by Lisa Trumbauer

This lavishly illustrated guide showcases the wide array of fantastic dragons encountered on the world of Krynn. Sindri Suncatcher–wizard’s apprentice–opens up his personal notebooks to share his knowledge of these awe-inspiring creatures, from the life cycle of a kind copper dragon to the best way to counteract a red dragon’s fiery breath.

The perfect companion to the Dragonlance: The New Adventures series, this beautifully illustrated title introduces readers to the looks and habits of dragons of the Dragonlance world. With tips and tricks every new adventurer can use on imaginary encounters with dragons, this book will enchant readers with both pictures and words.

About the Author
Sindri Suncatcher is a three-and-a-half foot tall kender, who enjoys storytelling, collecting magical tokens, and fighting dragons. He lives in Solamnia and is currently studying magic under the auspices of the black-robed wizard Maddoc. You can catch Sindri in the midst of his latest adventure in The Wayward Wizard.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Fiction, Dragonlance, Picture Books, Art, Childrens

80 pages, Hardcover

First published September 26, 2006

About the author

Lisa Trumbauer has written early-learner books for Scholastic's Jump Start series and published numerous other activity books, picture books, and novels for middle-school readers, including the New York Times bestseller A Practical Guide to Dragons.

Reviews

[Jim C · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is part of the Dragonlance world. This is a detailed guide about the different kinds of dragons that inhabit this realm. It tells their desires, their habitats, and their enemies.

Firstly, let me say this is a beautiful book. From the cover to the illustrations it is a pleasant book to look at. The problem for me is that this not my type of book. Their isn't a story as it just details the differences between the dragons. I appreciate the amount of work that went into this book but it did not entertain me. I need my world building information to be intertwined within the story. I am not a fan of just world building books.

I wish I enjoyed this book more as it is a nice looking book and I have no problem putting this on my bookshelf. It is a book that provides information and geared more towards the world building readers. Unfortunately, that is not the case with me.

[Carissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my coworkers very sweetly recommended this to me after I attempted to explain Dungeons and Dragons to her. This book and the other one in the series actually seem tied to canonical D&D lore, so it was legitimately helpful in planning for my campaign, as a green dragon does come up briefly in it. Could be used as inspiration for part of a homebrew campaign.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title implies, it is a guide to the different dragon species. Written like an actual guide book, with detailed facts and descriptions of each different dragons one may encounter in the realms. Additionally, there are many annotations made by the author, giving it a sense like a journal as well. Each page gives a description about what that dragon is, its statistics, its extremely long life cycle, and methods of combat. The illustrations also shown the dragons in their majestic glory, even with some hand-drawn by the author to give analysis on some of the aspects closer up.

While reading this, it appears that this was a supplemental book to another series, The Wayward Wizard, I believe. Overall though, I found the book enjoyable, but at times a little formulaic and repetitive because of the way it's formatted. Despite that, it was great to read a book that felt like it was immersing you into another realm.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are gorgeous, but the writing felt weirdly condescending. I think maybe trying to write from the perspective of an eager young student was the problem.

[Sheldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A Practical Guide to Dragons" is basically a dragon-centric bestiary for the Dragonlance universe, from my understanding. I can't speak for how well it ties into that universe, as I have not read any of those books, but it does provide statistics about the different dragons: size, favorite foods, information about behavior, small anecdotes to provide some narrative entertainment, etc.

It's geared towards a younger audience, though some readers may struggle with the handwritten font. There are a few grammatical errors, and one instance of words being misordered (like if you were stumbling over your tongue), but it's overall a fun read. I would've loved this as a kid, and I imagine there's some potential for lore analysis within the Dragonlance universe.

I'm looking forward to reading "A Practical Guide to Dragon Riding" next!

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations of the different dragons, especially their unique designs, was interesting, as well as the maps of their lairs- each type of dragon had a different “lair” layout- and that was a fun detail. For example, a dragon that is known as a “trickster” builds its lair with a large maize in it.
I would have preferred, though, information on the different dragons of folklore or perhaps a story in which these different dragons were part. It seems a bit odd to have a guide to dragons from a fictional world when that world does not exist outside of this “guide” series of books.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is similar to 'Draconomicon The Book of Dragons' but aimed at a younger audience. If you've already read Draconomicon then you'll notice some of the artwork and trivia are familiar. There's also artwork that's new to me which is beautifully rendered, but sometimes the proportions of some anatomy look a little off.
A Practical Guide to Dragons is fun to casually flip through but there's bigger more detailed books out there. This book might be preferred if you don't want to go through all the more technical RPG mechanics.

[Whitney Terrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good read. I found this book at a Half Price Books store, and I'm glad I picked it up. The book has introduced me to another book series. The dragons in the guide are majestic and I wish I could meet some of them (even though they're not real).

[Rebecca is book-hooked · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is like a Zoobook for Dragons. It is written as a journal of a wizard apprentice learning about dragons. The art is in color and very well done.

This would also be a great book for anyone interested in writing fantasy.

Loved it!

[Bookwalker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every dragon guide has its unique information piece. And, in this case, I really enjoyed the illustrations and information about the lairs of each dragon. I also liked how the author specifically explained how different dragons viewed the world around them. Good read

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a clever book. It is part of a fictional series but it also stands alone.

[Michael Mason-D'Croz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to my daughter as a bedtime story (one dragon at a time) and she loved it. So in turn, I loved it too.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was as good as Dugald Steer's two book that I have read so far.

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The preamble within this book almost had me stop reading, But I am very happy I did because the information on each dragon type was very well done and drew in my undevided attention.

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never read the series it was based off of but this was one of the most imaginative takes on dragons I've seen

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2023

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5
The creativity of this book alone should be given an award. I love the inginuity of the author for adding side-stories with the kender, from whose point of view we are reading about dragons. For kids who are interested in fantasy and mythical creatures, this book takes information from the Dungeons and Dragons universe as well. (Start 'em young, eh?) The detail and beautiful illustrations only add to this work of art, and it's very understandable for people who simply have a thing about dragons. I would absolutely recommend this to kids, teens, and adults who are fascinated with the world of magic, and want some good information about the metallic and chromatic dragon types.

[Cyndy Aleo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd be lying if I said that I looked forward to taking my five-year-old son Sassa to the library each week to play the summer reading game. While the game DID help us get him to allow us to read to him, it didn't increase his love of books AT ALL and the task of checking out MORE books each week ranked right about the same level as a root canal for me. Luckily, he had another week that a game spin assigned him a reading topic (fantasy or fairy tale) and we found A Practical Guide to Dragons by Lisa Trumbauer with the rest of the librarian's suggestions for that category.

::: The A to Z of Dragons :::

A Practical Guide to Dragons is told from the perspective of an apprentice student of dragons as he learns information from his master. Written as a "non-fiction" book, it breaks dragons into categories (almost like zoology), and includes such "facts" as wingspan and weight, favorite nesting environments, schematics of the dragon's lair, personality type, and usual foes (including likely results from a confrontation).

The book is full of large, full-color illustrations that are beautifully detailed, appealing to the casual reader as well as fantasy/dragon fans. Since the book is written in the style of an apprentice, occasional hand-written "notes" are included as well, making it seem even more real.

::: A Practical Guide to Dragons Had More Than One Fan :::

Usually, my [ex-]husband and I would argue in the evenings over who had to take on the task of reading to Sassa; after all, 20 minutes with a reluctant five-year-old with ants in his pants seemed like a good 20 hours. When A Practical Guide to Dragons was on the schedule for that night, however, not only did we fight over who had reader duty, but Buster was also enthusiastic, often asking for more when his 20 minutes were up (we tried to keep it to his contracted amount to stretch the book out a bit!).

Each evening, our 20 minutes usually covered three dragons, and both Sassa and I eagerly looked forward to the following night to learn more about the next set we'd be reading about. The illustrations were vibrant and detailed, and included little tidbits about facial features like horns and teeth that got Buster talking about what we were reading.

A Practical Guide to Dragons appealed to everyone in the house, and usually, the other kids would make an appearance when it was time to read this book to Sassa. Both my [ex-]husband and I enjoyed it immensely as well with its cross-generational appeal. I need to go see if Ms. Trumbauer has written any similar books, because now that it's fall, Sassa is again reluctant to be read to. Unless, of course, we head back to the library to check A Practical Guide to Dragons out again.

This review previously published at Epinions: http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_P...

[Conan Tigard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many DragonLance books, both ones for adults and young readers. Yet, the dragons in these books have always remained somewhat of a mystery to me. Yes, I know about the dragonfear, and yes I understood that different types of dragons spewed forth different liquids or gases from their mouth. But, none of the books I have read really focused on the dragons, so I only picked up a little information about them here and there. It was kind of frustrating.

Well, I am happy to say that there is finally a book out which tells you everything you might want to know about the ten different types of dragons in the DragonLance world. The book I am talking about is entitled A Practical Guide to Dragons and is written by Sindri Suncatcher, a kender wizard I have read about in the DragonLance: The New Adventures books, although I never got to read them all.

Each chapter in this book is packed with highly interesting material on dragons and I was enraptured during while I was reading. The images are gorgeous and it was wonderful learning about the different types of dragons. I had no idea that they were all so different. Awesome!

Since Sindri Suncatcher is a character in the DragonLance world, the actual writing for this book was done by Lisa Trutkoff Trumbauer. She did an excellent job of compiling all of this information and writing it so it can be easily understood. The cover and interior art, by eight different artists, is perfect. I love all the different looks of the dragons.

Overall, A Practical Guide to Dragons is an outstanding book full of highly interesting dragons and what makes them tick. Young readers will spend hours and hours pouring over this information and images, which will help them better understand the dragons in the Dragon Codex series.

I rated this book a 9½ out of 10.

[Stefan Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

This light-hearted fare is a quick but entertaining read containing basic information about the dragons of Krynn (the world that is the home of the DragonLance realm.) It is presented as a work created by Sindri Suncatcher, a Kender who may just be the Greatest Kender Wizard Who Ever Lived (according to him anyway!)

The book is chock full of wonderful illustrations and diagrams and givew the reader a lot of information about the abilities and lifestyles of the ten major species of dragons that inhabit the world of Krynn. There is information about their habitat, social structure, combat styles and much more.

To make the work more fun, Sindri gives us all of this information himself in the light-hearted, open-eyed style that is typical of any kender character. This makes the book one that is wonderful for those of all ages and it seems that it ends all to quickly.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book mostly for the maps of sample dragon lairs; they are a fun but rare combination of overhead plan views, and isometric side views of the layouts, or my favored ones are. Overall, not a bad book, though it is annoying that the narrator is a kender (seems to tie in to some series of children's books). But the fact boxes that start each dragon description are weird, or at least aspects of them are: all of the dragons are listed as having the same max weight, except red, gold, and silver, who all share a much heavier max weigh than the others. Max heights are again mostly the same (and it is a pointless measurement anyway: what is height on a dragon? why not use max length? Max wingspans are all over the place. Maybe it is quibbling, but why even bother including this information if you aren't going to put the minimum effort into imagining it?

[Go · Rating 5 out of 5]

In one word this book was...CLEVER! My son has been interested in dragons recently and I found these Codex books along with this companion book. Amazing. It makes you feel as if dragons exist today. It describes each dragon; color, personality, distinguishing physical features, favorite foods and treasure, their enemy and so on. Some personalities were: evil, talkative, playful, foul-tempered. Each dragon had a specific breath weapon: fire, acid, paralyzing gas, frost. The illustrations were incredible depicting their lairs and showcasing their colorful physical characteristics. I am even more of a dragon fan than I was before I read this.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun book! Similar to Dragonology, this book produced by Wizards of the Coast is a guide to the dragons in the Dragonlance D&D world. It's not necessary to be well-versed in Dungeons & Dragons to enjoy this, though. It's intended to be something like a field guide or scientific work. The artwork is truly gorgeous, and the text is humorous. Definitely a favorite from the latest load of new books we've gotten for the library.

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 7 y/o son read this today. He read it in a couple of hours, more like devoured it and he read most of it to me in amazement. He loved this book! He is very into dragons and he really enjoyed learning about them in this way. This is what he told me. It tells you about a whole bunch of dragons. Like the Black Dragon, it is really evil. I really like the Green Dragon, it has to put its eggs in acid. There are lots of neat Dragon Facts!!

[Adam Mace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful nostalgia trip for adults, or a great introduction to why dragons are a fun piece of fantasy for any person of any age, all with a great number of excellent illustrations and lore for the varied and unique dragons of the Dungeons and Dragons setting.

It is a book I had a lot of fun looking through back in elementary school, and fun using as a reference to paint D&D miniatures today.

[Almak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Practical Guide to Dragons is a well organized, written and illustrated book that goes into detail of ten different classes of dragons. It includes such characteristics as anatomy, breath weapons, language, lifespans, distinguishing features of each dragon, and sketches and drawings of each types lairs.

A well composed and illustrated book that is personally one of my favorites.

[Douglas Summers-Stay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the illustrations (think Spiderwick)and the sketchbook style. The categories of dragons seemed familiar-- they're straight out of D&D. In fact, the book claims to have been written by a kender, which means it's from the world of Dragonlance (and in fact I still knew most of the breath weapons from the video game Dragon Strike set in that world.)

[Talisa Timms]

This book incorporates different types of text. It includes a letter in the beginning of the book, T-charts to list out facts about dragons, descriptions of their body parts and life cycles. This book can be used to introduce ways to organize information. This book was also visually appealing and engaging.

[Harle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best dragon guide I've found. Of course, the species of dragons in it (red, gold, blue, etc.) aren't used in any other stories, so that bit's a bit pointless, but the diagrams, age process, language, and all the rest is simply amazing.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has all you want to know about dragons (and some you don't)! The world of Krynn is full of all kinds of dragons, great and small. Learn their stats and how best to approach or avoid them.
I loved the illustrations and the stats in this book.