On Wings of a Dragon by Cora Taylor

Taylor, C. (2001). On wings of a dragon. Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry & Whiteside.

Summary

A king, manipulated by his queen, rebels and sends out a message for help. A winged woman and a dragon hear his call. In the midst of the kingdom, the queen has ordered all children are conscripted into labor and are forced to report to the palace to serve the kingdom. In an attempt to save two girls, Petaurus and Brede search the palace grounds. Told from all of these character’s varying perspectives, the reader must discover how all of these character’s actions affect each other. Can they come together and save the ones they love?

Advisory Information

-Themes:

a. Unlikely Hero: While I do not want to give away the twist at the end, through a humble background, one character is expected to rise above and lead a nation. It is not necessarily coming-of-age, though because the character remains static, however, we do learn that he/she rises to the occasion.

b. Triumph of Good over Evil: Common in most fantasy novels, the battle between good vs. evil is prevalent throughout this novel.

c. dedication: This novel reinforces the idea that people need to be dedicated and persevere in what is morally right to each individual character. In fact many of the characters in the story embody these points of view.

-Age Recommendation:

I would recommend this book to middle school children aged 12-15. The book’s plot is told in different viewpoints; therefore readers should have more abstract reasoning to be able to follow the changes. However, the writing is not all that complex.

-Other Information:

On Wings of a Dragon was a Canadian Children’s Book Centre “Our Choice” Selection and nominated for the Manitoba Young Reader’s Choice Award in 2002.

Its sequel is entitled On Wings of Evil.

Reaction:

On Wings of a Dragon is an interesting example of fantasy fiction. Told from many different perspectives, the author does an excellent job tying all of the plot lines together. The author’s ability to draw each character makes it easy for the reader to understand each perspective. While some of the characters seem too static, the overall book is entertaining and provides readers with a light-hearted fantasy novel.