Dragons Beware!

by Jorge Aguirre, Rafael Rosado (Illustrator)

Overview

Scrappy Claudette sets out once again with her pal Marie and her little brother Gaston to right wrongs and fight evil. And this time, it's personal. Claudette is out to get the dragon who ate her father's legs...and his legendary sword. But as usual, nothing is as simple as it seems, and Claudette is going to need Marie and Gaston's help more than ever.

Funny, fast, high-energy storytelling in an inventive and perilous fantasy landscape makes Dragons Beware! a fantastic follow-up to 2012's middle-grade hit Giants Beware!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626724334
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	05/12/2015
Series:	Chronicles of Claudette Series
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	61 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Jorge Aguirre is a Colombian-American from Columbus, Ohio. He's written for everything from the most popular children's shows to documentaries about Romanian exorcisms. He lives on the East Coast.
Born in Puerto Rico and based in Ohio, Rafael Rosado is a veteran of the animation industry. He is currently a storyboard artist for Warner Brothers, Disney, and Cartoon Network.

Born in Puerto Rico and based in Columbus, Ohio, Rafael Rosado is a seasoned writer, director and storyboard artist for the animation industry. He began his career at Character Builders in Columbus, Ohio as an assistant animator. He quickly worked his way up to become a character designer, storyboard artist and commercial director. During his tenure there he worked on such shows as Fox's Emmy Award-winning Life With Louie, HBO's Happily Ever After and Fox's Where in The World Is Carmen San Diego.

After leaving Character Builders in 1994, Rafael went to work for Warner Brothers Animation, storyboarding on Pinky and The Brain and Emmy nominated Animaniacs, for which he also wrote two episodes.

He was the recruited by the newly-founded Sony Television Animation division, where he worked on eleven shows including directing episodes of CBS's Project GeeKeR and NBC's Sammy. He was promoted to Supervising Director on Extreme Ghostbusters and Producer on Men In Black: The Animated Series.

After 5 years honing his skills in Los Angeles, Rafael moved back to Ohio to raise his family. He is now one of the most highly sought-after storyboard artists, working for major studios such as Warner Brothers, The Walt Disney Company, Sony, Universal and the Cartoon Network. Highly diverse, he has storyboarded on action, comedy and pre-school shows, shows as diverse as Boondocks, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Batman, The Venture Brothers and Curious George.

Rafael's first graphic novel, Giants Beware!, was published by First Second Books in early 2012. His short film The Tortured Clown was acquired by and featured on the Sundance Channel.

Jorge Aguirre is a Colombian-American from Columbus, Ohio. He’s written for everything from the most popular children’s shows to documentaries about Romanian exorcisms. He is the author of Giants Beware! He lives on the East Coast.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Chronicles of Claudette series:

"These stylish books — there are three so far — are called “Giants Beware!,” “Monsters Beware!” and “Dragons Beware!,” and they are just the thing for kids who like fractured fairy tales."—New York Times


Praise for Dragons Beware!

"The series manages to foreground reasoning, diplomacy, and cooperation without sparing any of the freewheeling action or dragon-vomiting humor."—Booklist

"This rowdy adventure is sure to be a crowd pleaser."—Kirkus

"Kids will eat up this installment and eagerly await the next series offering."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

04/01/2015
Gr 3–6—After saving her village of Mont Petit Pierre from the savage Baby-Feet Eating Giant in Giants Beware (First Second, 2012), plucky heroine Claudette sets her sights on a new threat to her friends and family. Years before, the fearsome dragon Azra the Atrocious fought with Claudette's father and swallowed not only his magic sword, Breaker, but also his legs and an arm; now Claudette is determined to get the sword back. Before she can put her plan in motion, a more immediate foe threatens her home: the evil wizard Grombach has escaped his island prison and raised an army of gargoyles to destroy the town forever. Only Breaker can save them, so Claudette's father sets off to get it back. Incensed at being left behind, it is not long before Claudette enlists the aid of her brother Gaston and her friend Marie to follow and help her dad. This volume contains many of the same elements that made its predecessor so successful. The art perfectly suits the tone and action and the story is smart and funny. The true strength of the series, however, lies in the characterization. Claudette is just the right amount of bold and daring, Gaston is insecure but stronger than he realizes, and Marie is going to make a wonderful princess someday. Along with a great supporting cast, complete with seven lovelorn princes all vying for Marie's attention, no character is left behind. Kids will eat up this installment and eagerly await the next series offering. VERDICT Dragons Beware will delight fans of the first title.—Erik Knapp, Davis Library, Plano, TX

School Library Journal

2015-02-16
When a wicked wizard threatens her city, Claudette decides it's once again her job to save the day. Impetuous young Claudette is still determined to become a warrior like her father, Augustine, the heroic blacksmith of the town of Mont Petit Pierre. Buoyed by the success of her first adventure (Giants Beware!, 2012), Claudette is completely undeterred when her family and friends tell her that fighting the villainous Grombach is a task for adults. Fortunately, neither her little brother, Gaston, nor her best friend, Princess Marie, will let Claudette sally forth alone to confront the dragon Azra the Atrocious, who long ago swallowed the powerful sword that is the key to defeating Grombach. Rosado's expressive art, with its heavy lines and cartoonishly exaggerated figures, highlights the humor of Aguirre's script, and the clear, often cinematic paneling makes the gargoyle-smacking, dragon-bashing action easy to follow. The warm palette, courtesy of colorist Novak, helps bring the otherwise generic medieval setting to life. While the funny, fast-paced story will draw in readers, it is the trio's winning friendship and teamwork that will leave fans clamoring for a sequel. Clever Marie and little master chef-turned-swordsmith Gaston each get their chance to shine, and it's impossible not to root for scruffy, hotheaded Claudette. This rowdy adventure is sure to be a crowd pleaser. (Graphic fantasy. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews