Title: The Dragon Machine

Author: Helen Ward

Illustrator: Wayne Anderson

Medium: Color pencils and pens.

Genre: Modern Fantasy

Theme: Frustration, being overlooked and neglect.

Summary: A boy named George started spotting dragons that were overlooked by others just like him. George decided to build a dragon machine and lead the dragons to their home.

Literary Elements: The genre was modern fantasy because there was suspended belief (the dragons and building a dragon machine), the universal theme of frustration, and draws on a common characterization from traditional literature – dragons. The story was a high fantasy because the story was not lighthearted and there was a dark theme behind the plot and illustrations and it was a quest tale because George had to lead the dragons home in order not to be overlooked. The setting was in present time and shifted from a town to a forest and back. The settings were real places since it was a town and a forest but the plot was make-believe. The settings were a backdrop because it could happen in any town and any forest. The character of George draws on another element of traditional literature - flat and stereotypical and did not display any growth and change or weaknesses and strengths. His character may be flat and stereotypical but he would be easy for children to identify with and interacted with the plot to solve the problem (getting rid of the dragons and feeling of being overlooked). The plot was progressive with self vs. self and self vs. others. The unifying theme of this book is the frustration of being neglected and overlooked by others around George. The story was told from a third point of view and the illustrator’s style of illustration in the making and using of dragon machine made me think of the steampunk style.

Evaluation: Children of all age will enjoy this simple yet high fantasy book and will be able to connect with George and his feeling of frustration. Myself as an adult reader, the story evoked a subtle sinister feeling in me for some reason. Adults would notice how George’s dragons were really the manifestation of his anger and frustration. The mood of the book was really dark and I am not sure if I like it. I love the illustration of the making of the dragon machine because I thought it would be a good start to introduce the students to a new genre, steampunk which are stories styled in a world like the dragon machine’s design.