KING KRAKUS AND THE DRAGON

by Janina Domanska ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 20, 1979

Rich color, sumptuous design, and a splendid peacock of a dragon adorn this old Polish tale of King Krakus who founded Krakow and the shoemaker's helper Dratevka who saved the city from the smoke-spouting beast. Any possible quiet or intimate moments in the story are lost in Domanska's flamboyant hands (and why make a Last Supper grouping of the town council meeting?), but the fearsome moments, as when the voracious dragon gobbles the livestock, are magnificent. And though Domanska the storyteller scarcely gives her audience a chance to identify with Dratevka, his ploy--using a tar-and-sulphur-stuffed ram as bait--is dashing enough, and the dragon's consequent fate dramatic enough, to live up to the visual flourish. For all the extravagance, the story ends with disarming modesty, with the hero simply being made court shoemaker and presenting the princess with a pair of dragonskin boots. Smashing.

Pub Date: Aug. 20, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Greenwillow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1979

Categories: CHILDREN'S