''Dragon Boy'' is a children's novel by British author Dick King-Smith, first published in 1993. The novel is about John, a young orphan in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

who is adopted by

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

s. ''Dragon Boy'' appears on numerous school reading lists and is taught in schools. It has been used as one of the practice texts for the English

Common Entrance Examination Common Entrance Examinations (commonly known as CE) are taken by independent school pupils in the UK as part of the selective admissions process at age 13, though ten independent schools do select at 11 using different test papers. They are se ...

for year 6 students to move to senior school.

Plot summary

Montague Bunsen-Burner is a dragon who is put on a 'no-humans' diet by his wife Albertina. Out on a flight later that day, Montague discovers an orphan boy, John, and takes the boy home with him. John proves his worth as a member of the family when he teaches the dragon couple the importance of incubating their own eggs. John takes in an orphaned wolf cub, naming him 'Bart' and training him as a pet. Albertina's egg hatches, revealing a young female dragon who names herself 'Lucky'. From this point onwards, John is regularly described as the Bunsen-Burner's adopted son and Lucky's 'little brother'. While the dragons take a holiday at the beach, John and Bart are confronted by wolves. Lucky senses that her brother is in danger and returns to save him. During their time away, the Bunsen-Burners are attacked by a group of ambitious knights, but the dragons easily drive them away without any casualties. As Lucky grows older, Montague and Albertina search for a potential husband for her in an arranged marriage, but their search fails. Fortunately, Lucky discovers a boy dragon called Gerald Fire-Drake and the two form a deep attachment that blossoms into romance. During this time, John has a brief encounter with an outlaw who threatens to kill him, but Bart senses his master's peril and hurries to save him. After an engagement of a couple of years due to Gerald and Lucky's youth, their wedding takes place near the lake where Lucky hatched. John gives a speech in his role as best man. Gerald and Lucky fly off for their honeymoon, leaving John to reflect on the joys of his life as a dragon boy.

Reception

Critical reception for the book was positive. An unknown reviewer from '' Quill & Quire'' stated the author "fills the book with adventure and humour, keeps his touch light and his nonsense uncomplicated, and creates a world of human - dragon relationships that will resemble some young readers' own favourite fantasies: easy to accept and thoroughly entertaining." Shirley Lewis, writing for ''Emergency Librarian'', felt the book was " ll of excitement and danger." Moira Robinson, in ''Magpies'', compared King-Smith's writing to

Quentin Blake Sir Quentin Saxby Blake, (born 16 December 1932) is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works. For his ...

's illustrations. She stated the adventures in the story were "all good rollicking fun with terrible jokes about knights in armour" or "appalling parodies". ''The Junior Bookshelfs D. A. Young stated "Dick King-Smith makes the most of the satirical possibilities offered by attributing the foibles of the class system to the world of dragons." A. Fisher from ''Books for Your Children'' likened ''Dragon Boy'' to other stories by the author, adding that it is well written.

References

{{Dick King-Smith 1993 British novels 1993 fantasy novels Children's fantasy novels British children's novels British fantasy novels Novels about dragons 1993 children's books Viking Press books Novels by Dick King-Smith Books about adoption