Where Is the Dragon?

by Leo Timmers

In this story, three knights go looking for a dragon in the dark. The king won't sleep until they find it. The knights know everything about dragons. With only one candle between them, they go out into the night.

Genres: Picture Books, Dragons, Childrens, Fantasy, Storytime, Adventure, Humor

40 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8, 2019

About the author

Leo Timmers was born in 1970, in Belgium. Trained in Graphic Design he began to illustrate Children’s books. Gradually he started writing stories himself. In 2000 he received a Bookfeather Award for his illustrations in 'Happy with me'. He won the annual Children’s and Youth jury Award in both 2005 with ‘Just in time’ (written by Bart Demyttenaere) and 2006 with ‘Supermouse’.In 2007 he won with his picture book ‘Who is driving?' His books have been published in France, Spain, Norway, Finland, USA, Canada, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Korea, UK, Israel, Portugal, Germany and Japan. Leo also illustrates for magazines such as HUMO and various advertising agenciesOver the years his style has evolved, but it has always been marked by humour, form, colour, and incisive ideas. Leo lives in Brussels with his wife and two daughters.

Reviews

[Odette Brethouwer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leuke illustraties, leuk hoe er met licht en donker is gespeeld. En wat gebeurt er veel op elke bladzijde! Een boek dat een glimlach brengt.

[Jvermeersch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geweldig. Grappig, spannend, leest enorm vlot dankzij rijm, met leuke tekeningen. Bouwt enorm goed op naar de clou, en de opeenvolging van climaxen-anticlimaxen met deze ruigere ridders is geweldig om erin op te gaan. Blij dat ik deze heb kunnen scoren bij de tweedehands bibverkoop.

[امیرمحمد حیدری · Rating 4 out of 5]

ترجمه و منتشرشده توسط انتشارات تاریخ ادبیات کودکان. داستانی جالب و بامزه در مورد شکار کردن اژدهایی که آزاری ندارد و از همه جالب‌تر، هیچ‌کس نمی‌داند اژدها چه شکلی‌ست؛ پس فقط از خلال کلیشه‌های دندان‌های زیاد و دم تیز و جثه‌ی بزرگ و تنِ خاردار به دنبالش می‌گردند، اما هربار که شمع را روشن می‌کنند، شیئی که سایه‌اش به شکل اژدها بوده، چیزی دیگر می‌نماید، مثلاً یک لانه‌ی عجیب از پرنده‌ها. این چنین‌ست که ترس‌ها بی‌معنی می‌نمایانند، چون تصورات ما از آن چیزِ ترسناک، ترسناک‌تر از خود آن پدیده هستند.

[Chance Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous use of color and irony, both visual and in the text.

[Mira Domsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute rhyming picture book about three knights looking for a dragon. Would be great for storytime.

[Eline · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Om gelijk de drakenaanval te starten: dit is een fantastisch boek. Je ziet alles en
toch weer niet.

De vlotte rijm ondersteunt de illustraties. De geweldige hilarische illustraties ondersteunen de tekst. Het is duidelijk dat zowel illustraties als tekst niet losstaand zijn. Ze vertellen de kijker en lezer tegelijkertijd dit originele ridderverhaal.

Het verhaal begint met een opdracht van de koning aan drie ridders. Zij moeten op zoek naar de draak. Nee, ze moeten hem verslaan! Een spontane lach borrelt op als je de drie niet zo dappere helden in volledige ridderuitrusting met hun kaarsje de trap ziet afsnellen. Ze denken te weten hoe een draak eruit ziet en iedere keer gaan ze met veel bravoure op een schaduw af in het nachtelijk donker. Steeds worden ze verrast door een bijzonder kleurrijk object. Als het kaarslicht bijna is gedoofd, denken ze klaar te zijn, naar bed, er is geen draak. Waar dan wel?

Aan de hand van één zin kan er in een bovenstaande sheet veel worden ontdekt en soms vraag je je af of wat je denkt dat je ziet ook daadwerkelijk gebeurt. Timmers speelt enorm goed met schaduwillustraties. Hierin gebeurt veel: van vallende figuurtjes tot vormen ontdekken en emoties die af te lezen zijn.
Het opbranden van de kaars is goed aan het licht gebracht en speelt een ingenieuze rol in het spel van donker en licht. Iedere keer zijn er nieuwe details te ontdekken; een nieuwe pleister of iets opvallends aan een pluim op een helm.

Met dit verhaal vol fantasie zijn veel gebruiksmogelijkheden te bedenken, bijv. vormen herkennen, tellen, een schaduwspel tot een uitdagende handvaardigheidsles.
Leo Timmers heeft inmiddels een groot oeuvre, met ‘Waar is de draak?’ wordt er een superverhaal aan toegevoegd. Het is kunst. Het plezier spat er vanaf!

Een prachtig, zeer geslaagd prentenboek om keer op keer van te genieten.
Heel vaak voorlezen deze grote aanrader!

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dit boek lijkt wel een kunstwerk! Een heel leuk en ook grappig verhaal met tekst op rijm. De illustraties van Leo Timmers zijn magnifiek. Ontzettend knap hoe hij speelt met licht, donker en schaduwen. Er is ontzettend veel te zien op de ogenschijnlijk donkere tekeningen, illustraties en tekst horen bij elkaar en vertellen samen dit leuke en kloppende verhaal.

[Inger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastisch boek voor peuters en kleuters. Ideaal om aan de slag te gaan met schaduw. Het verhaal is lekker kort en daardoor precies goed om voor te lezen voor de peuter hier in huis.

[Audrey Light And Smell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plein d’humour et de charme, cet album jeunesse est une merveille de poésie et de beauté que je conseillerais à tous les petits et grands enfants. Pour ma part, nul doute que je le relirai avec grand plaisir.

Chronique complète sur https://lightandsmell.wordpress.com/2...

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun and lots of details — the knights have mishaps in the shadow and the effects appear on the next page. The candle burns down. The shapes resolve into various things (although I’m not sure I’d be as reassured by a sleeping group of bears). This would be fun to read with a detail oriented little one.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The King is worried about a dragon, sends three knights out in the dark to save the realm (and himself). Knights One and Two discuss what they've been told about dragons, come across scary-looking things that turn out not to be when Knight Three holds up his candle. Is there even a dragon out there? Cute illustrations.

[Flore Vanoverberghe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dit boek werd al vele malen gekozen als slaapverhaaltje. Zo leuk dat het voor vele leeftijden past. De eenvoudige rijmen vullen de ontzettend mooie tekeningen perfect aan! Je waant je echt in ridderland.

[Sara Tropp · Rating 5 out of 5]

The artwork is gorgeous. My second graders loved the suspense mixed with humor and an u expected ending. It reminded me of Jon Klassen’s books such as “I Want My Hat Back”.

[Guilherme Semionato · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yobQJ...

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attack! Great fun read. Illustrations are wonderful.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is a 3.5 for me. Young readers will enjoy the plot but also the fact that the text and the illustrations don't match. As rulers often do, the king of this particular kingdom is concerned about a dragon possibly roaming the land. To allay his fears, he directs three of his knights to go in search of the dragon. They do, but they don't know much about dragons other than hearsay. As they share what they know about this fierce creature, their imaginations are somewhat limited, and they envision more pedestrian objects such as carrots instead of spikes on a dragon's back. Reassured, they head back to the castle, certain that there is no such thing as a dragon. But as the last illustration in the book shows, they are completely wrong and have deceived themselves. The use of rhyming text alongside the detailed illustrations set against a dark background gives this picture book read aloud appeal as well as visual interest. In some respects, this one brought to mind Ed Young's Seven Blind Mice because those knights aren't really able to see clearly in the dark, and they want to believe that there is no such thing as a dragon.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The king is too scared of a dragon to fall asleep, so he sends out 3 knights who think they know everything about dragons. Every time they think they see one, it's just the dark playing tricks on them, but the dragon tricks them and the king at the end. No death, just a dragon getting the bed. I liked it, but I wanted more out of this Timmers' book. I don't know if I would rather there not be a dragon at all, thereby sending the message that you don't need to fear the shadows in the dark.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the king is too scared to sleep, he sends his three brave knights out to save the kingdom from the dragon in his nightmare. Armed with a sword, a polearm and a candle, the three make their way through the deep darkness of the pages, illuminated only when their candle gets close enough to chase away the shadows. The knights have never seen a dragon, so they talk about what a dragon looks like as they walk. Readers will see dragons in the shadows on each page, which after the page turn are revealed to be things like piles of fluffy sleeping bunnies or large plants with birds roosting on them or even bears and foxes curled up snoring. After falling into the water, two of the knights are ready to turn back. Just as the candle finally goes out, the knights head home, and that’s when a shadow starts to move…

Timmers has a marvelous sense of humor in all of his picture books. This book glows with that humor, as each shadow is cleverly revealed to be nothing at all. The dialogue between the knights is delightful, talking about the dangers of dragons from their flaming breath to spiky tails to sharp teeth. As each is discussed, the knights firmly declare that they are not scared or bothered. Just the page turns alone in this picture book are a joy, each reveal is great fun to guess at before turning the page.

The art is fabulous, from the big details of the shadowy dragon shapes to the small detail of the candle steadily shrinking as the pages turn. While the short knight has quite an uneventful hike through the forest, the other two knights find themselves in a lot more trouble along the way. The final dragon reveal is marvelously satisfying, particularly the final page.

Perfect for any knights and dragon fans you might have, this book is a great read aloud. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is definitely going in my dragons story time book list. 3 small knights are looking for dragons for the king. they have a candle and each 2 page spread has text describing dragons and then on the opposite page it has a shadow shaped like a dragon. they light up the shape and it turns out to be NOT dragons. The knights decide to go and tell the king there's no such thing as dragons and at the end there is a real dragon that is cuddled up in bed. I love the juxtaposition between the candlelight and the dragon shaped shadows. Originally published in the Netherlands.

[nAeEMak نعیمک]

من کتاب‌های تصویری این شکلی که چیزی برای کشف کردن را دارد خیلی دوست دارم. اینکه تو را وارد یک بازی حدس و گمانی می‌کند که هر بار هم گول می‌خوری. شاید هم البته بعضی‌ها اعصاب این کتاب‌ها را نداشته باشند و به نظرشان مسخره به نظر برسد. بازی بین سایه و نور و تقریباً داستانی که می‌شود ازش صرف‌نظر کرد (بیچاره نویسنده که نادیده‌اش گرفتیم) و مهم‌تر از همه شوخی‌های بی‌اندازه زیاد تصویری کتاب را تبدیل به تجربه‌ای می‌کند که واقعاً آدم را سر کیف می‌آورد. من چاپ «تاک» را دارم که کپی‌رایت دارد و به همین دلیل چاپ خوب و باکیفیتی دارد.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was silly, and the most ingenious part was how all the silhouettes that looked like dragons transformed into groups of other animals. I also liked the silly details of what happens to the other two knights who aren't in the candle's glow, and are shown as silhouettes. The rhyme of the text felt a bit forced in places, but I think the concept of going on a dragon hunt will still appeal to readers so I'm not sure they'll mind so much.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun rhyming text.
Small Knight Three is the one who is brave, debunking the fears of the others.

Would be fun to pair with the fable about the 3 blind men and an elephant. There they're feeling parts of an animal. Here they see shadows of shapes, which turn out to be something else in the light.

[King Kimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute picture book on facing fear. Three knights go in search of the dragon that is keeping the king from going to bed. As the knights look for the dragon based upon the king's descriptions, the smallest knight discovers that the shadows aren't what they appear to be. However, there's a surprising ending for the king lol.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute enough, love the vocabulary. Love the theme, which was done a little differently, but better, in Seven Blind Mice. Not overly fond of the setting.

[Carolienvanderwaarde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leo Timmers is voor alle leeftijden. Heerlijke humor in dit drakenboek waar de draak telkens iets totaal anders blijkt te zijn. Lastig hoor als je in het donker op drakenjacht wordt gestuurd.
Erg leuk om met kinderen en schaduwen aan de slag te gaan. En natuurlijk horen daar veel draken bij.
Deels op rijm. Dat had van mij wel helemaal gemogen. Maar het blijft leuk.

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny picture book with a dual storyline. Would pair nicely with Guess Again!.

[Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved reading Leo Timmers' Who is Driving? When my kids were younger so I was excited to read this new book by him. But I was disappointed.

Short rale in rhyme were 3 knights are in search of a dragon but only find other non-dangerous situations.

[Cass · Rating 5 out of 5]

The knights must search for the dragon scaring the king. But what is that over there, a dragon or no?

Rhymes are on beat. Illustrations are fun and engaging. The pace is perfect. The ending is fun! I can see this becoming a littles instant favorite.

Fun story time or bedtime.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many things that look like a dragon in the dark, but the knights sent by the king find that these are not dragons. They might miss the real dragon, though...

This was fun; could be interesting to guess what all the shapes are before they're revealed.