ALA Booklist
(Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2013)
Who doesn't love a quest, especially one in search of a dragon d not just any dragon, but the last dragon? A young boy accompanies an elderly, rather odd-looking knight on his trusty white steed off into the wilds. Double-headed trolls, fanged werewolves, thorned demons, and all sorts of menacing creatures along the way make this a creepier journey than some. Throughout the excursion, the knight provides for his wide-eyed companion an ominous running monologue of what they will encounter. At the end of the quest, just when the boy begins to question why they would want to battle the dragon, there appears to be no dragon, not that the knight is aware of at any rate. However, the boy and the reader know better ey're standing on top of it! Wonderfully rich prose imagery is suitably matched by lavish acrylic-and-digital illustrations. Readers will want to hurry to the end and then return for more leisurely trips to make sure none of the creepy characters along the way are missed.
Horn Book
(Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)
Come on! You'll be a hero, / a great warrior, an epic knight.
School Library Journal
(Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2014)
Gr 1-3 An aging, somewhat comical medieval dragon fighter summons a young boy who is reading DragonQuest to join him in his quest to fight the last dragon. With flowery speech, the old warrior describes the journey to come: "We must pass many perils out there. Awful perils, dangers to set your teeth chattering, to turn your hair white." And at the end of that journey waits "the worst of terrors-green ice gleaming in the [dragon's] eye, claws flashing in the smoky sun, fire curling from its mouth&30;." The pair travel across deserts, through dark forests, and up steep mountains, all the while managing to escape, outwit, or conquer the dangers from scorpions, snakes, wasps, ghost owls, wolves, goblins, witches, and two-headed trolls. At last, they reach Glass Mountain, the heart of dragon country, and the old warrior is ready to fight. However, after that long, long trek, there seems to be no beast in sight. But then the story takes a humorous twist. The dragon is there all along, hiding in plain sight. Children will enjoy being in on the joke and will appreciate the surprise ending. The not-too-scary goblins, witches, and dragon are rendered in lush, fulsome acrylics and are digitally enhanced. An attractive, easy-to-read addition where there is a demand for picture-book fantasies and adventures. Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA