IVANKO AND THE DRAGON

by Marie Halun Bloch ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 9, 1969

Have you ever seen a Ukrainian she-dragon sporting a flowered turban, red peasant dress and a forked tongue to match? It's the little touches in pictures and text that make the difference here; the story, translated and adapted from Ivan Rudchenko, has elements that even a child will recognize: the childless couple's son sprouted from a sapling; the she-dragon luring him by mimicking the sound of his mother's voice; the boy avoiding a roasting by tricking her servant into the oven. Then comes the supreme, prolonged peril -- Ivanko is in a tree, the she-dragon is gnawing and gnawing at its trunk, and each passing skein of geese passes his rescue plea to the next... until the last lone gosling carries him safely home (and he looks for all the world like a jubilant Ntis). Some teasing banter with his bereft parents (Mother, at the oven: ""This little tart for you, old man, and this little tart for me;"" Ivanko, on the roof: ""And for me?"") concludes an ebullient entertainment.

Pub Date: Sept. 9, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1969

Categories: CHILDREN'S