Top Twenty Dragon Books for Children

The Wild Thing is terribly into dinosaurs. She has a dinosaur garden (see here), had a dinosaur party (see here) and has far too many dinosaur books (see here). A reader of my blog emailed me recently and said that while her child liked dinosaurs, they were more a dragon kid and did I know any dragon books apart from ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ (which is a fab book BTW).

I have pondered this question over a few days and have realised that in my librarian brain there are a number of mystical and magical dragon books filed away in there. So here they are. Hope they are of use!

Below is The Wild Thing at our local park some time ago. My fab web designer, Tom, snapped this and added in the fire and sword…she’s off to slay dragons…with a full nappy. It’s one of our favourite photos of her.

My Favourite Dragon Books for Children

To add these books to your home, school or library collection click on cover images.

This would have to be my favourite dragon series for lower/middle primary children. It is so so beautiful. Briony Stewart is a masterful writer and the Kumiko series is very literary but still manages to be engaging, exciting and magical. The dragon in this series is possibly my favourite ever.

Kumiko doesn’t like going to bed. She can’t sleep, and the reason she can’t sleep is because of the giant dragon that sits outside her bedroom window, every single night. So one night she plucks up the courage to ask the dragon to leave, not knowing that the truth she is about to discover is more thrilling than anything she could ever have imagined.

This delightful story will take the young readers on a soaring dragon adventure, as Kumiko discovers a strength she never even knew she had.

Gorgeous picture book for younger readers. Can a girl be a dragon hunter? Jock doesn’t think so! Emily does, and so she and her pet chicken Egg set off into the Dark Old Forest, just to prove him wrong.

Thowing in an audio book – because as you can see here and here, I do so love audio books! You can read my full review of all the Dinosnore titles, including this Dragon one here.
You can read all about the Riley books, and author Tania McCartney here.

Lulu’s best friend, Molly, is preparing for the Moon Festival. But there’s so much to do! There are dragon costumes and paper lanterns to make, and moon cakes to bake. Not specifically a dragon book I guess but oh so great. More on this series here.

In this fabulous full-colour picture book, Tashi rides on a white tiger to the top of the mountain to see why the dragon is not sending the rains to his village. The entire Tashi series can be seen here.

No one had ever seen the dragon, but once a year it would send smoke and thunder down the mountain, and soon the rains would follow. Now the skies were always blue, the creeks were drying up and the people were hungry. What was happening up there? When Tashi reaches the dragon’s golden palace, he meets an angry young dragon who is upset because his mother is under the spell of a demon sleep and he can’t wake her up.

Peter Pavey’s much-loved classic fantasy picture book is also a clever and unique counting book full of hidden surprises. Each picture poses a challenge to find the matching objects and visual puns and puzzles that abound within. Some are easy to spot, but some are more difficult…and some will have you looking for hours!

Puff the magic dragon, lived by the sea, And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee. Welcome to Honalee- an enchanted land of imagination, acceptance and love. In this special place you can share the playful adventures of Jackie Paper and his childhood friend Puff, the magic Dragon. This is the famous song from Peter, Paul & Mary, beautifully illustrated and presented with a cuddly dragon plush and audio CD sung by Peter Yarrow.

There is so many of these Rascal the Dragon books now (see here)…and PudStar has read and re-read all of them. The naughtier Rascal is the more Pud laughs. The Rascal books are designed for readers just becoming independent. The text is simple but clever and the illustrations leap off the pages and keep interest high.

A tiny sneeze, a puff of smoke, a washing line, and a major disaster! From internationally acclaimed picture book creators Mem Fox and Roland Harvey comes the enchanting tale of a little dragon’s small mistake that sets his whole wide world on fire.

When nine-year-old Billy Fincher gets bitten by a lizard at his local pet shop, strange things start to happen . . .his fingernails turn into claws, his skin becomes green and he starts breathing fire. Billy can’t hide it any longer – he’s turning into a dragon. And when his parents decide to sell him to the zoo, Billy has to make a decision. Find a way to change back, or lose his family forever. Being a dragon is more complicated than it sounds!

David’s new lodgings have a magical atmosphere…

David ran a hand through his mop of brown hair. Dragons. It was certainly different from his last set of lodgings, where all you got were spiders and the occasional mouse. It s perfect, he said.  When David arrives at Wayward Crescent he has no idea what lurks inside the Pennykettle house. Only when he s given his own special dragon does he begin to unlock their mysterious secrets, and to discover the fire within…

The story begins in the first volume of Hiccup’s How to Train Your Dragon memoirs… Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was an awesome sword-fighter, a dragon-whisperer and the greatest Viking Hero who ever lived. But it wasn’t always like that

The entire Dragonkeeper series can be found here. They are WONDERFUL. Perfect for readers from about 9+. These were the very first dragon books I read and adored! In the time of the Han Dynasty in ancient China, the last remaining dragon is in danger of being killed by the cruel Emperor. A nameless orphan with no past and an uncertain future becomes his unlikely ally. The young orphan soon discovers that it is her destiny to protect the aging dragon and his mysterious purple stone. Chased by an evil dragon hunter and a powerful sorcerer, their adventure is not easy. Each must learn to help and understand the other if they are to survive. To succeed in her task, the young orphan must reach deep within herself to find courage she never knew existed. No longer can she be the timid, shy orphan she once was. She is now the one, true Dragon Keeper.

This is the encyclopaedia to accompany the reading of any books about dragons! People have been telling stories about dragons for more than 3000 years. Five-headed dragons, fire-breathing dragons. As big as mountains, as small as dogs. Dragons that can be moody, dragons that are brave or cowardly, smart or stupid, good or downright evil.

Here is an encyclopedia of the most amazing dragon stories ever told. Read everything about dragons — from blood and claws to the wicked dragon king of Enoshima. Go around the world, back in time and into the fantastical world of dragons.

Suitable for lower to mid primary, this is gorgeous and so much fun! Ben wants to get a dog. Badly. But his mum says they’ll have to move to a bigger house first, and they can’t afford it. So Ben, his brother Tim and their friend James decide to find some dragon’s gold. They have to meddle with magic to do it, though, and that is always a dangerous thing to do.

Next thing they know a fire-breathing dragon has kidnapped James sister Sarah and they have to find some way of rescuing her without getting fried! They’re in for a marvellous magical misadventure.