Ignis - Softcover

Wilson, Gina

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0744594057 ISBN 13: 9780744594058

Publisher: Walker Books Ltd, 2002

Synopsis

Ignis can run fastest and fly highest of all his friends in Dragonland, but he does not have fire. So he sets of on a journey of self-discovery, along the way he forges new and special friendships, but will he find the spark he need to become a really real dragon?

About this title

Review:

Everybody loved Ignis. He could run the fastest and fly the highest of all his dragon friends, and "his wings, depending on the weather, opened like silk umbrellas or gossamer parasols." But there was one thing Ignis couldn't do: "Every night, he sat at the back of the cave, huffing and puffing till he thought he would burst, but not a single flame ever appeared, not a flicker." And among dragons, who are always playing Fling a Flame and All Blaze Together, not being able to breathe fire can be pretty disappointing indeed.

Ignis tells the story of how this young dragon finds himself--and, he hopes, his flame. Wandering away from the heart of Dragonland, Ignis talks to Poto the hippo and Loquax the parrot, and even meets a young human girl named Cara, with whom he spends afternoons eating strawberry ice cream, making daisy chains, and trying to decide whether it's better to be a human or a dragon. ("sometimes it seemed as if being a human being and a dragon together was the best of all.") But not until Ignis makes his way to a solitary, burned-out volcano does he finally find his fate.

Much of Gina Wilson's text here is lovely ("They sat on the dark shore and watched the almost invisible night gazelles stealing down to drink," "All was soundless, save the faintest shushing of breezes and twittering of jewel birds..."), but it's P.J. Lynch's ethereal illustrations that, were you able to breathe fire, might leave you breathless. With a touch of the Disney (in a good way), these carefully composed, wide watercolor-and-gouache scenes evoke Dragonland's quiet beauty better than any words, from the blue green roll of Poto's belly to the rose light limning Ignis and Cara on a late-night flight over the stars. (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes

About the Author:

Gina Wilson teaches creative writing and has written several novels for young adults, a book of poetry for children, and three picture books for young children, including PROWLPUSS, which THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW called "a thoroughly delightful tale."

P.J. Lynch is the illustrator of many children’s picture books, including GRANDAD'S PRAYERS OF THE EARTH, written by Douglas Wood, Susan Wojciechowski’s THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE OF JONATHAN TOOMEY, and Amy Hest’s WHEN JESSIE CAME ACROSS THE SEA, all three of which were awarded the Christopher Medal. Of IGNIS, he says, "I have always found dragons the most fascinating of beasts, but in most stories they are just plain nasty, so it was nice to be able to show that dragons have feelings, too."

About this edition

• Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0744594057
• ISBN 13: 9780744594058
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Lynch P.J.