Like so many magical creatures, dragons have undergone a makeover in modern times. The greedy, cunning and ferocious “worms” Tolkien described, descended from St. George’s fearsome adversary in Spencer’s The Fairie Queen, have now become small and cuddly – or, in the case of Dick King-Smith’s lovely comedy, Dragon Boy, adoptive parents. Although Hagrid in Harry Potter discovered the hard way that dragons tend not to stay small for long, most children dream of a dragon like Toothless, the runty “Common or Garden Day-Dream” picked up by Cressida Cowell’s Hiccup. Toothless is selfish and greedy, and often a coward to boot but it’s impossible not to fall in love with him.

My son and I are in love with dragons anyway, spending long hours discussing various imaginary breeds. Despite Mulan’s Mooshu, Chinese dragons seem a bit too dignified for the kind of stuff you want from a dragon, ie, flying, breathing flames and the odd potion. Dragon Keeper may well change all that. Ping, its heroine, is a slave girl in charge of feeding two wretched Imperial Dragons. Kept in filthy captivity, half-starved and forgotten, they are the last of their kind. Soon after one of the pair dies, Ping hears the emperor sell his dragons to a dragon-hunter and, moved by her own desperation to survive as much as by compassion, they escape together.

What follows is the most captivating children’s book I’ve seen so far this year. As Ping and the stubborn, mysterious dragon escape from the evil Diao, by flying, walking and sailing down the Yellow River, they form a bond which changes them both. At all costs, the “stone” Ping found in the corner of the dragons’ prison must be saved, for reasons that become obvious, but the dragon Danzi also teaches her wisdom – and how to count. The greed of the dragon hunter, who wants it only to sell its valuable organs, could well stand for the ravages currently being wreaked on China’s landscape; its heart-rending sufferings and patience in adversity bring out the best in Ping so that, having begun with only a rat for company she ends up entrusted with the most precious thing in the world. On the way to escaping to the Ocean, and the Isle of the Blest, they have many adventures but it is the spiritual journey which is most touching.

Flyte is the second of Angie Sage’s engaging and energetic novels about Septimus Heap. Lavishly produced, with a jacket that looks just like dragon-skin, it features not only another dragon egg which becomes a child’s responsibility, but a boat that was once a dragon. Septimus, formerly a boy soldier known only by his number, has been accepted by all but his brother Simon as an Extra-Ordinary Apprentice to the good witch Marcia; so jealous Simon has been helping the evil wizard Dom Daniel to return from the dead. It’s all jolly, free-wheeling stuff, with young Queen Jenna being kidnapped by Simon and a rat (yes, another one of those too) having to bring help at the crucial moment. Sage shares the same publisher as JK Rowling, and her lavatorial jokes and details about spells and enchantments are just the kind of thing younger fans of Harry Potter will enjoy. She needs more editing to bring it up to Rowling’s tightly-plotted standard, and the pencil illustrations at the start of each chapter are just a bit too cute (and repetitive). On the other hand, the baby dragon, when we finally get to him, is an absolute winner. Spit Fyre does all the proper dragonish things like burning holes in precious shoes and giving rides.

We can’t get enough of such stories. More, please!

Also try:

MP Robertson, The Egg 3+ Watch it hatch….
Dragonology, Templar 6+ Gorgeous encyclopaedia, worth every penny.
Cressida Cowell, How to Train Your Dragon (series) 6+. Hilarious Viking adventures.
Tolkien, Farmer Giles of Ham 8+ A crafty farmer outwits a dragon.
Dick King-Smith, Dragon Boy. 8+ Orphan adopted by dragons makes comedy masterpiece.

The Times, March 18