Since I started reviewing the other books in the series, I figured I might as well keep the ball rolling with Dr. Ernest Drake's Dragonology Handbook A Practical Course In Dragons. While some parents might not like the aspect of wizardology and the study of dragons, I am of the belief that as long as kids are reading something it’s better than having them sit and play video games for hours on end. When I picked these up the brood looked through them and emitted the standard ooh’s and aah’s but they didn’t go bonkers over them. They reserved their jubilance for the Egyptology books in the series, books that I still haven’t been able to read because they have them hoarded in their rooms, hidden under some pile of clothing or worse, their closets. I consider myself a brave person under most circumstances but when it comes to going into their closets, my knees buckle and sweat beads on my brow. That all goes back to one of the “cheese experiments”, something best saved for a lengthy editorial about the do’s and don’ts of homeschool science projects.

Dr. Ernest Drake's Dragonology Handbook
A Practical Course In Dragons

There are three main courses of study in this book; elementary, intermediate and advanced dragonology. It would be in your best interest to study these in order and not skip chapters. A lot of the information that you find in this book also appears in Dr. Ernest Drake's Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons but there are some things in this book that you won’t find in the other. Since there are three progressively harder sections to make your way through, you are getting everything from the basics about dragons right up to learning the words of the dragons, writing your own dragon scripts [language] and forming your own Dragonological Society in your area. Since you are dealing with dragons that can, at times, be unpredictable, the book stresses that you keep accurate notes about your studies. To me this is one of the best things about the book, it encourages children to write their thoughts about things in their own words.

One of the biggest differences between this book and the Wizardology and Dragonology books is that this is smaller in size but has more pages. The two other books are huge with elaborate covers, gems embedded in them and filled with flaps to lift, envelopes to open and things to explore. This one does have some goodies but no where near as many as the larger books. On the up side there are 79 pages to this book where the others only have 30 - 32. The handbooks were created as companions to the larger ones, have more detail to them and are about seven dollar less. They are also easier to read; the text is all basic and flows nicely. In the Wizardology book there were ornate fonts and scripts used so it took some time to get used to them. Some of the goodies include your very own library card, a copy of Dr. Drake’s report card, several sheets of stickers and a hidden map of the dragons of the world. You can find this glued to the back page of the book, right under the stickers.

There are a total of twenty one lessons in the book, divided into the three main chapters I previously mentioned. In addition to these you also get a glossary of terms that will help to familiarize you with common dragon speak and the all important course certificate that shows that you are indeed a true dragonologist. One of my favorite chapters is the first one; it gives you some great information on how to spot dragons, logging them correctly and learning how to tell the different dragon species apart. The chart on page 12 is a great supplement to the text in the larger guide book on dragons and gives you some additional information on the different dragons; this is given to you in the form of a test but once you match up the information correctly it does serve as a great teaching tool. Another cool thing about this book are the homework exercises; you’ll get practice in writing in Anglo Saxon runes, testing the potency of dragon dung, making your own dragon attractor and drawing various types of dragons.

The Humor

“The dangers of seeking homework help even from the friendly dragons should never be underestimated”

One of the constants of these books is that they are filled with humor. The above quote is featured in the book under a drawing of a dragon and two children standing in front of a smoldering book; the obvious result of them asking the dragon for help. One of the funniest parts of the book is the application to request that you be given an orphan dragon egg to raise; this in itself isn’t all that funny but when you read the requirements [how will you clean it / dragons don’t like baths] you will be rolling on the floor laughing. Even though there is a lot of humor in this, it does have some real world value. Sections ask you to do your “homework” in the case of applying for an orphan egg you have to create a plan to pay for the lodging, health, care and feeding of your dragon. While this might sound silly it gives kids a chance to do some creative writing, planning a budget [even if it is fictitious] and taking all things into consideration.

The Bottom Line

If you don’t want to spring the twenty bucks for the full sized Dragonology: book then this one makes for a nice substitution. Most places are selling this for $12.99 but you can find it for less if you look online or don’t mind buying a gently used copy. You will want to make sure that you are getting the complete book with all of the goodies [as well as the stickers in the case of this book]. If you see something for eleven dollars but it’s missing the inserts and maps you aren’t getting that great of a deal; you are better off to just spend the couple of extra dollars and get a new one. This makes for a great gift if you know someone that is into dragons or has any of the other books in the series; it’s small enough that they can tuck it into their backpack or knapsack and read it on the road but meaty enough that they’ll be flipping pages for a while.


As always, thanks for the read!

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2005 Freak369


More tales of dragons, wizards and all things medieval ...

Good Night, Good Knight
Who Wants A Dragon?
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Medieval Knight: Armor You'd Rather Not Wear
A Medieval Feast
Wizardology: The Book of The Secrets of Merlin
Dr. Ernest Drake's Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons
Dragon’s Merry Christmas





Recommended: Yes