1. What other accounts of Merlin's childhood are there? How do they compare to Passager?

2. Yolen has written about Merlin in other books, but these other portraits of Merlin such as found in "The Dragon's Boy" are different from that in Passager, Hobby, and Merlin. How do they differ from the Merlin of Passager? How are they similar? Are their themes similar to those of Passager? What does Yolen seem to be trying to achieve with her depictions of Merlin?

3. Yolen explains that she chose to have Merlin abandoned in the woods because such abandonments were common.

How did Europeans dispose of unwanted children in the early Middle Ages?

What were the alternatives to leaving the youngsters alone in the woods? Is Yolen correct in saying that child abandonment was common?

4. There are other tales of children left to fend for...