Hosie Baskin

Well-known sculptor and illustrator Leonard Baskin teamed up with his young son Hosie to create this fabulous picture-book catalogue of the dragons of the world, published in 1985. Here the reader will encounter Leviathan - most fully described in the Book of Job, in the Hebrew Bible - whose eventual conflict with Behemoth will signal the end of the world. Here too is Tiamat, the Babylonian goddess slain by Marduk; the Shen Lung, a powerful Chinese dragon with the ability to control the weather; the monster Grendel and his terrible mother, slain by the hero Beowulf; and the birdlike dragon outwitted by the Polish King Krak, who went on to found the city of Krakow. Also included are the Babylonian dragon slain by Daniel, the Hydra, Smaug (from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit), the Basilisk, the Laidly Worm, Fafnir, the sea dragon slain by Perseus, the Fire-Breathing dragon, Tarasque, the Dragon of Colchis, St. George's dragon, and the eight-tailed dragon. Finally, both the Fold-Up Dragon and the Manuscript Dragon also make an appearance.

Each two-page spread of The Book of Dragons features a paragraph or two about the specific dragon being profiled on one page, and a full-page color painting, done in watercolor, of the creature being discussed, on the other. Baskin's illustrations are vivid and powerful. They are not "pretty," in the manner of some fairy-tales, but they do capture the fascination of these mythological beings. Less of a history than a sampling, this picture-book is sure to please young dragon lovers, as well as fans of Leonard Baskin's artwork.… (meer)