Book Review: The Dragon Slayer: Folktales from Latin America

 

The Dragon Slayer: Folktales from Latin America
by Jaime Hernandez

 Book Cover Picture:

 

Category: Texas Bluebonnet Award Winner

 

Target Age Group: Ages 8-12, grades 3-7

 

Format: Paperback

 

Summary: This book is a collection of three folktales from Latin America. They all center around marriage in some way and deliver good life lessons as folktales often do.

 

Justification:  The Dragon Slayer is a Texas Bluebonnet award winner and Aesop Prize winner. It is depicted in a comic style that appeals to visual readers.

 

Review: This review will examine the illustrations, the pace and expectations.

These stories are illustrated in a graphic novel format. The pictures are drawn in a traditional comic format with lots of primary colors. The stories are typically told orally and the pictures, while they add entertainment value, are necessary to advance the story. The choice to do these stories as graphic novels will encourage young readers to pick up these stories.  

 Each of the three stories are pretty short, only lasting a few pages. This break down makes it easy to digest giving the reader clear stopping points if they want to put the book down. Since each story is short, the action happens quickly and keeps the reader engaged.

I know we are not supposed to judge a book by its cover, however, with a title like "The Dragon Slayer" I was expecting epic dragons! I was disappointed when only the first story featured a dragon and it was not much of an appearance. I chose the title from a list of Bluebonnet award winners, like many may do for school and the expectation did not meet the reality of this book.

I'm not a huge fan of comics and the lack of dragons was disappointing, so my overall rating for this book is a 2.5.

 

Resources

 

Hernandez, J. (2018). The dragon slayer: Folktales from Latin America (J. Hernandez, Illus.). TOON Books.