This was a lovely book with lush language and illustrations that were even more lush. This is a fairy tale about a land that fought and killed dragons and then forgot about them. Many generations later the last dragon hatches and wreaks havoc on the unprepared and unsuspecting populace. It is left to a dreamy young girl named Tansy and young man name Lancot who has been a storyteller and braggart to deal with this wyrm. Tansy is the daughter of the first human victim of the dragon. He was the village healer and she was his student. Now she has to use her healer's skills to find a way to defeat the dragon. The people have decided they need a hero and have sent three young boys to search for one while preparations are made at home. The boys encounter Lancot in an inn and are convinced by his stories that he is a great hero. He is lured to the fight (which he doesn't really believe in) by promises gold. When he arrives to find that there really is a dragon, he doesn't know what he can do. But he and Tansy come up with a plan and fall in love while executing it.I have only seen the Adobe Digital Editions eARC of this story but I am already convinced that the illustrations will be gorgeous. They reminded me a bit of the work of Trina Schart Hyman in Saint George and the Dragon and Little Red Riding Hood. They have similar lushness and attention to detail but they are somehow softer and more romantic. Lovers of fairy tales and graphic novels will be very satisfied with this book. I plan to get myself a copy for my own bookshelves and certainly one for my high school media center.
