'Dealing with Dragons' by Patricia C. Wrede

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede has been one of my absolute favorite books since I was a child, and since I have been wanting to get back into reading for myself, I figured it would be a good place to start my "To Read List," which grows larger and larger every day.

The book is about a tomboyish princess who doesn't care much for embroidery, singing, or any of the other princess-like things that a princess should be interested in, or so her mother likes to remind her.

As she grows, her parents begin to start making more—permanent—life choices for her, including the engagement to a prince that she has little, well, actually no interest in; and so, she decides to do the only thing she can. The princess runs away.

On her journey, she stumbles upon a dreary looking cave where she comes face to face with three enormous dragons, one of which is quite keen on eating her. Though that would undoubtedly solve her marriage problem, she rather enjoys living; and so, with a little bit of wit and a bit of luck, a charming dragon decides to take her under its wing—and make the princess its very own.

To keep her head, the princess decides to accept the dragon's proposal, and so, the dragon gains a new housekeeper—or should I say "cave-keeper." During the time that the princess spends with the dragon, they befriend each other, and the princess is able to learn about many more interesting things than she was able to at the castle—like magic for instance. After a short time, she concludes that she rather enjoys her new home. So when the prince to whom she had been betrothed comes for her, she sends him away. Crazy, you say? Maybe!

During her time out and about exploring the cliffside for herbs, she meets a wizard, and later learns from that wizards are not allowed in the domain of dragons; perhaps, there is a plot afoot. With the help of a friendly witch, the two are able to make moves in order to prevent the theft of the dragons' most prized possession, but what happens after they do prevent the theft? Can you guess? It's unlikely. With twists, turns, and references to popular Grimm fairy tales, unique characters, and charming written voice, this particular tale may be one of the best fairy tales ever written. Don’t take my word for it though, you can find your own personal copy on Amazon for less than 10 dollars!

Parts of the first and second chapter were originally published in a slightly different form, under the title "The Improper Princess" in a collection called Spaceships and Spells by HarperCollins in 1987; however, this particular story was copy written by Patricia C. Wrede in 1990, and was published by Scholastic Inc. in New York. Its first printing was in 1992.

If you are interested in reading this incredible book, the ISBN is 0-590-45722-5, and as you can probably tell, it is DEFINITELY worth the read.

As this is only the first book in The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, I have a few books that I have to hunt down and read, the next being Searching for Dragons, and an adventure of a lifetime shall begin again within the pages of one incredible paperback. Stay tuned one and all, for the next time we meet, I shall be ranting and raving over the next book.

If I haven’t mentioned already, this book is totally okay for youngsters. If you have a kiddo with adventure in their heart, and a creative imagination, then this book is definitely a good one to try.