The Dragonslayers

by Bruce Coville and Katherine Coville

Book Overview

A brave squire, an earnest page, and a strong-willed princess set out on their own missions to slay the dragon--putting a fresh twist on classic tropes--in this repackaged edition of the illustrated middle grade fantasy The Dragonslayers.

When the witch Grizelda decides to get revenge on King Mildred, she doesn't go halfway. She makes the fiercest dragon the kingdom has ever seen. Now the kingdom is in dire need of a dragonslayer...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1665979100
• ISBN13: 9781665979108
• Release Date: May 2025
• Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks
• Length: 128 Pages
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Fun with witches, dragons and talking foxes

This book was so exciting. I could not put it down. I loved how the witch could make the dragon with so few ingredients, and a newt. My favorite part is when we met the talking fox. Note from mom: This book had my 7 year old son laughing till I thought his sides would split.

The Dragonslayers

ISBN 0671798324 - I didn't have a lot of hope for this book from the Covilles - in fact, before I read it, I thought Katherine had done a better job with the illustrations than Bruce could have done with the story. I was wrong: both Covilles did a great job! Grizelda believes that her family was killed and she blames King Mildred. To get her revenge, she creates a dragon more fierce than any dragon before it and sets it lose on the king's town. When news reaches the king, he calls his knights together to get a volunteer to slay the beast. His knights seriously lack in bravery and Elizar, an old squire, ends up being the first volunteer. Joining him is Brian, a young page. While they outfit themselves for their adventure, Princess Wilhelmina has ideas of her own. Willie's father has offered half the kingdom AND Willie's hand in marriage to the man who slays the dragon, and Willie is not about to let her fate be decided in such a way. Sneaking off in disguise, Willie plans to kill the dragon herself, and win her freedom. The three meet up with creatures of the forest and, eventually, each other. They end up facing the dragon together and everyone, even Grizelda, gets their heart's desire... but how that happens, you'll have to read to discover. Written for ages 8-12, The Dragonslayers is one of the few kids' books I've read lately that might transcend gender. There's enough action for boys and the character of Willie in the role of heroine ought to appeal to girls. The language is "wrong" for the time period, but absolutely perfect for young readers (lots of "thou"s and "thee"s would only make it hard to read for most kids, so no one will miss them!). The story seems to me to be very tongue-in-cheek, which I think kids will grasp even before adults do. A quick, fun read, as to be expected from any book that begins with the sentence "Do you have the lizard snot?".

What I Thought Of Bruce Coville's The Dragonslayers

I thought the book was very good it had a very interesting plot. Some of the characters traits were kind of weird such as a talking bear or fox. I think Coville Caught all readers attention in the first chapter. The first few sentences really hook you and draw you in to what the book is going to be like. Altogether it was a very good exciting book I think Coville is a very talented writer. He has hooked me with this book I think the next book that I am going to read is going to be is aliens ate my homework. I like this author he has drawn me in to his web of writing talents.

This book was very interesting

I thought this was very interesting, because there were witches, a king, a princess, and a dragon. Also it especially shows what a girl can do compared to some people. It is also a little mysterious, because you didn't know what would happen next, but in the end some interesting things happened. I thought the book was good and also funny, because animals could talk and some funny events happened.

I was in the Dragonslayers as a fourth grader!

"The Dragonslayers" was first a musical play written by Mr. Coville in 1979 at Wetzel Elementary School. I was in his 4th and 5th grade class and it was in 4th grade when I was a maid-in-waiting in the school's production of "The Dragonslayers". I still have pictures (somewhere) of me at age 9 on stage. Needless to say, I'm a bit biased with regards to the book because it holds wonderful memories for me. However, I recently gave it to a young cousin of mine to read and he loved it. Mr. Coville was a fantastic teacher and truly was one of the people who has greatly influenced me. I believe that he is the person who taught me to love literature, mythology and adventure at a young age. He was fun and kind and I remember him fondly as the character Igor who would beat us over the head with his teddy bear and jump on desks and make us laugh; he was not your "traditional" teacher, but someone who could relate to us, young as we were. With regards to "The Dragonslayers", the story is filled with adventure, mystery, romance, evil, heroism and fun; in short, everything that makes a book great to read. The story is a simple fairy tale with many strange and fun characters who are interesting and likeable because they have "attitude" and are often more than they appear. The tale engages the reader and transforms them to a magical world where anything is possible if you are brave and have a love for adventure. The characters and their conflicts are still relevant today, despite the the lack of dragons in the modern day world. I hope you read the book and love it as much as I always will, Superna Hora Kalle.