Dragon Magic

ANDRE
NORTON

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

The information, activities, and discussion questions which follow are intended to enhance your reading of Dragon Magic. Please feel free to adapt these materials to suit your needs and interests.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alice Mary Norton was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on February 17, 1912. Read to by her mother from an early age, she grew up loving books and began writing in high school. She published her first book, The Prince Commands, at the age of twenty. Norton wrote under a pseudonym, which she felt helped her gain footing in male-dominated publishing markets, and legally changed her name to Andre Alice Norton in 1934. She worked as a librarian, briefly owned a bookstore, and served as a reader and anthologist for publisher Martin Greenburg before devoting herself exclusively to writing. Norton’s work spans decades and literary genres—her list of books, stories, and poems numbering into the hundreds—though she is best known for her fantasy and young adult novels, including the Witch World series. Her Magic Books, including Dragon Magic, were largely written during the Vietnam era and feature young outsiders struggling to fit in and make sense of their worlds through fantastical journeys to times past. Norton received numerous accolades, including the Nebula Grand Master Award (1984), the Daedalus Award for Lifetime Achievement (1986), and the World Fantasy Convention Life Achievement Award (1998). In 1997 “The Lady,” as she was known to her myriad fans, was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame and moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where she lived until her death on March 17, 2005. Her last novel, Three Hands for Scorpio, was published by Tor Books in April 2005.

RESEARCH AND WRITING ACTIVITIES

I. Discovering Dragons

A. From the Greek myth of the Hydra to Kenneth Grahame’s 1898 tale of The Reluctant Dragon to the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, dragons have served as important characters and symbols throughout literature. Go to the library or online to learn more about mythological dragons, literary dragons, dragons in folklore and fables, or another literary dragon topic. Compile your research into an informative “dragon handbook” that may include a bibliography of dragon books, illustrated drawings of dragons from various mythologies, or a study of dragons in a given culture or time period. Create a colorful cover for your handbook.

B. The word “dragon” can be applied to mythical monsters, fierce people, large lizards, even personality flaws. Use a library or online resources to see how many definitions and usages you can find for the word “dragon.” And/or, find at least five famous quotations using the word “dragon.” Use this information to create a small illustrated poster with the heading “The Meanings of Dragon.”