When adding books to the school library the cover of this one caught my eye. It's a Batchelder Honor Book with a suggested reading level of Grade 4.1. Basically the world's last elf and the world's last dragon must fulfill an ancient prophecy, and by doing so start a new and better age. When we first meet the elf, Yorsh, he describes himself as one lately born and we quickly find out that his knowledge of humans is extremely sketchy. He does make a couple of human friends and after a few adventures they find the lair of the last dragon (a library!). That takes us through Part One, about a third of the book; Part Two deals with how the prophecy comes to be fulfilled. Recommended for children who can't get enough of adventure and dragons. However, while I did enjoy the story it didn't do as much for me as most of the other children's/YA I've read in the last year. Translated from the Italian by Shaun Whiteside.

http://tinyreadingroom.blogspot.com/2... ( )

When the last elf and the last dragon meet... the world will change.

Poor Yorsh. As one born lately, the little elf doesn't know much about the world. A few things he's clear on - humans are confusing, if not to say completely foolish, and they don't like elves - unless it's to eat them, with rosemary. Unfortunately, as the last elf, and a starving, freezing last elf at that, he's going to have to make allowances. Can one small, naive, pacifist, vegetarian elf and a baby not-so-vegetarian dragon manage to carry out the prophecy and save the world? It's going to be one heck of a ride.

Definitely NOT what I was expecting when I started reading. Yorsh is long-suffering and his encounters with the "real world" are a riot. This could very easily have been a longer story, and I wouldn't have minded a bit. ( )

A wonderful story of love and faith and hope. ( )

I love a good YA book; this one is a translation from the Italian, and frankly one of the better treatments of classic character-types that I have read. Humans, elves, and dragons all interact in this book, but far from the "oo-woo-oo" awe and respect that tall, thin, gorgeous elves command in many other fantasy texts, the elf here is significantly more old school -- he's tiny, he dresses funny, and he doesn't really understand human beings at all. The communication conundrums are laugh-out-loud funny, but there are also tender moments here. The dragons, too, are more "realistic" in a certain sense than some of the more romanticized depictions in other novels -- sheep get eaten, people get bruised, and the reality of living with a fire-breathing carnivore is front-and-center at several points -- and the people are, well, people, which I appreciate. Add these treatments together and, despite the familiar elements of prophecy and quest, you have a fantasy novel that actually feels pretty original (a rarity). There is some violence and a bittersweet conclusion, so this won't suit little kids, but I think older kids all the way up to adults, especially those with some experience of fantasy tropes, will really appreciate the fresh treatment. Honestly, one of the best I've read in quite a while.