From many traditions (Babylonian, Greek, Indian, Norse, Chinese), 11 tales plus a brief survey of eight more ``Dragons Around the World'' and a 1916 ``Dragon Poem.'' The adaptations are clear but overly truncated--though the lively details of the British ``The Lambton Worm'' and ``The Mordifor Wyvern'' hold interest. Anderson's sinuous, scaly dragons are in a romantic, finely detailed style, but there's a curious sameness to their wicked eyes and pointy fangs (cf. the imaginative variety Peter Sis brings to Prelutsky's The Dragons Are Singing Tonight, p. 1078). Where funds permit, a visually attractive survey that may lead readers to accounts with more depth. (Folklore/Picture book. 7-11)
