January 16th is Appreciate a Dragon Day! Dragons are one of the oldest and most widespread mythological creatures and for good reason. Our scaley serpentine friends are a fun addition to any fantasy story. And whether they be ferocious or tame, we love them all the same. Here are a few of our favorite fire breathing buddies from literature.
Drogon
From Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, The most vicious of Daenerys Targaryen’s three dragons, putting them at the top of this list.
Norbert
From Harry Potter and the Philosopher/Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. Hatched by everyone’s favorite groundskeeper Hagrid from an egg he got off a stranger. Norbert is a Norwegian Ridgeback, later renamed Noberta when the discovery is made that the tiny dragon is female. Harry, Ron, and Hermione eventually have to help sneak the dragon off Hogwarts campus with the help of Ron’s dragon loving brother Charlie.
Smaug
From The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkein. The dragon who slaughtered and invaded the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor and now guards the gold inside the mountain.
Saphira
From Eragon by Christopher Paolini, the first book in The Inheritance Cycle series. She is the last living female dragon in all of Alagaësia. She is wise, brave, and protective of her friend and ally, the human Eragon.
Toothless
From How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. Did you know the beloved movie franchise has over twelve books to go with it? Now you do! Meaning there’s even more feisty, flighty, Toothless to enjoy.
Festus
From The Heros of Olympus by Rick Riordan, found and restored in The Lost Hero by Leo Valdez. He may be a machine dragon, but as a protector of Camp Half-Blood, we love him all the same.
Gadzooks
From The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris D’Lacey. He is the main protagonist David’s clay dragon that helps him write, and often carries around a notebook and pencil.
Eldrax
From The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. By now we all know the story of the princess who gets kidnapped by a dragon and must be saved by the prince, but this children’s book does things a little differently. Instead, the dragon kidnaps Prince Ronald and it’s up to Princess Elizabeth to save him.
