A good dragon story usually requires an interesting dragon, and Yolen offers one that is frightful and dangerous. "His name in the old tongue was Aredd and his color a dull red. It was not the red of hollyberry or the red of the wild flowering trillium, but the red of a man's lifeblood spilled out upon the sand." Aredd is a lonely dragon, having hatched from its egg many years after human beings think that they have destroyed the last of all dragons. Therefore, Aredd knows no dragon lore and has no idea of his history. That he therefore acts primarily on his instincts is only natural and will help seal his doom. That his color is the color of blood is a good touch, suggesting as it does the menacing nature of the giant animal. His "tail was long and sinewy" and...