Flight of the Last Dragon

K-Gr 3—A fanciful poem about the last of the dragons, Ultimon, who becomes the constellation Draco. In a modern-day city, Ultimon lives alone in the sewers, worn and sad, dreaming of his former glory. One night he emerges and begs the universe to take pity on him, and he hears a faint call from the sky. He gathers his strength for one final flight and takes his place among the stars. The story of the last dragon secretly coexisting in the contemporary world is compelling, and GrandPré's illustrations do a lovely job juxtaposing the mythological and metropolitan elements. Her expressive paintings-full of sad, cool blues, purples, and greens until they explode with warmth as Ultimon takes his triumphant place in the sky-draw viewers into the dragon's world. The formal, old-fashioned style of the poetry is reminiscent of epics such as Longfellow's "Hiawatha," and reads aloud well; however, the quality of the verse is uneven and relies heavily on exclamation points to convey the mood rather than trusting the content of the writing. While there are some nice similes, there are also some glaring clichés: "Hot tears rain down!/Sobs Ultimon:/I knew them all!/Now all are gone!/And I am left/With thoughts that pass/Like grains of sand/In an hourglass." Despite its flaws, high-fantasy lovers of all ages will enjoy this book.—Anna Haase Krueger, formerly at Antigo Public Library, WI