Bringing a dragon down to size

George and the Dragon

by Chris Wormell

As an English Lit. major, I learned there are two main types of satire: burlesque and mock epic. In burlesque, Cleopatra sounds like the scullery maid. In mock epic, it's the reverse.

This is a mock epic if there ever was one, simply told and gut-busting funny. The dragon seems real enough, all sinewy and toothy, bearing down furiously on a helpless castle and carrying off the fair maid.

And then there's his new neighbor, George, a mouse who's fresh out of sugar for his tea.

What's a proper British rodent to do?

Why pop next door and introduce himself, of course. Too bad the dragon's afraid of mice, eh?

Wormell lets his watercolors do much of the talking in scenes that are lifelike for all their absurdity. George twitches with exasperation as he sniffs around his gloomy new digs in a way that's entirely mouselike -- and believably human.

Plus, empirical research shows that if you read it in a verrrry scary voice, you'll be rewarded with peals of giggles.

Rating: *\*\*\*\

Other books we've reviewed by this author:
The Big Ugly Monster and the Little Stone Rabbit