socially acceptable. Everyone is happy and the boy and the saint walk the dragon home to his cave where he can now live in peace.TOPICS: Getting along with others, imagination, communication, sharing, history, animal rights, violence, poetry.THEME(S): There are many lessons in this book that would be beneficial to young readers. Some of the more important themes of the book are prejudice, problem solving, and getting along with others. These are good themes because they are ones faced by children everyday. Children can learn a lot from this book.The main theme of prejudice is displayed when the entire town assumes the dragon is evil. They stereotype the dragon. They show how they feel when they recruit the help of the saint. The saint didn't even know the dragon wasn't evil until he talked with the dragon. At the beginning of the book even the father of the boy prejudges the dragon. The reader can see the prejudgment of the dragon by the father because the father runs off frantically at first sight of the dragon. The boy is the only one who doesn't pass judgment on the dragon. He is more curious than anything and he wanted to see for himself if the dragon is good or evil.I thought this was a good scene for a young reader to relate to. It shows that adults aren't right to pass judgment on anyone before they get a chance to get to know them. To a child, the book also shows that they can make friends with anyone no matter their color, size, stereotypes, or race.Another great lesson for children is problem solving. There was a problem with the dragon and how the saint had to kill it. The saint and the dragon compromise so that both of their problems are solved. This is the part of the book when they decide to stage the battle between the two.The author was trying to teach problem solving skills. He did this by giving the dragon a personality. The dragon could talk, and he was also very intelligent. The dragon and the sa...
