The Wooden Dragon by Joan Aiken
Joan Aiken tells the story of lame Window and her sailor brother, Handle, who live in a small house in a wooded hollow. Each autumn, when the leaves fall from the trees, the little house is buried right up to its bedroom windows, so each year Handle must sweep the leaves away. But one day, Handle breaks the news that he must go away on an extra long trip. Window is sad, and desperately worried that she cannot survive without him. Before he leaves for the harbour, however, Handle gives Window a little wooden dragon and promises his sister that the dragon will look after her. And so the little dragon sits on a corner shelf, growing dusty, and waits for the time when he can come to Window's aid...
"This will stand rereading not just for a summer but for a lifetime" The Sunday Times "Aiken's ability to connect through words is highlighted by the excellent pictures in this folk-tale yarn of how a wooden dragon jolts a bereft sister from her fearsThe atmosphere is as moody as a British summer, full of arching trees, brooding skies and half-hidden meanings: the kind of story that stretches beyond the page" -- Sally Williams Independent "[The] illustrations ... bring a sense of flow and colour and cheer to Joan Aiken's lonely but haunting little tale" The School Librarian "This is a strange and stirring picture book by that magical story teller, the late Joan Aiken" Inis "A haunting story" Sheffield Star
Joan Aiken, English-born daughter of American poet Conrad Aiken, began her writing career in the 1950s. Working for Argosy magazine as a copy editor but also as the anonymous author of articles and stories to fill up their pages, she was adept at inventing a wealth of characters and fantastic situations, and went on to produce hundreds of stories for Good Housekeeping, Vogue, Vanity Fair and many other magazines. Some of those early stories became novels, such as The Silence of Herondale, first published fifty years ago in 1964. Although her first agent famously told her to stick to short stories, saying she would never be able to sustain a full-length novel, Joan Aiken went on to win the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize for The Whispering Mountain, and the Edgar Alan Poe award for her adult novel Night Fall. Her best known children's novel, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, was acclaimed by Time magazine as 'a genuine small masterpiece'. In 1999 she was awarded an MBE for her services to children's literature, and although best known as a children's writer, Joan Aiken wrote many adult novels, both modern and historical, with her trademark wit and verve. Many have a similar gothic flavour to her children's writing, and were much admired by readers and critics alike. As she said 'The only difference I can see is that children's books have happier endings than those for adults.' You have been warned . . .
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780224064804 |
| ISBN 10 | 0224064800 |
| Title | The Wooden Dragon |
| Author | Joan Aiken |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Penguin Random House Children's UK |
| Year published | 2004-05-06 |
| Number of pages | 32 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |