Who’s in charge in Almira, in the magical land of Deweydaire where dragons rule over humans? Surely not those wacky dragon doctors, Samson and Fitzhugh, or the ailing dragon Queen Esmerelda! If only that boy–what’s his name? Peter Porter! If only he could find Princess Meredith and bring her home! But she’s got her own problems. She’s fighting in a war with her rebel dragons against her uncle, King Harold, seeking justice for oppressed human farmers who’ve been raising crops to feed these (vegetarian) dragons. Things go from bad to worse when her tyrannical cousin, Prince Rupert, takes the throne. Somehow, with the help of friends both human and dragon, she must defeat the power of illegal magic and find her way back to Almira–hopefully in time to save the queen!
A timely, engaging story of justice, fairness, friendship, and—most of all–never giving up! For ages 10 and older.
Lane Waldman, Illustrator, and Christie Waldman, Author
* * *
(Loosely based on the
notebooks of Marcus A. Dragon)
Praise for The Voice of the Wooden Dragon:
“Original, clever, and a fun read from start to finish …. especially and unreservedly recommended for … library fantasy fiction collections for young readers ages ages 8-18.” –Children’s Bookwatch, Midwest Book Review
“A fantastic mix of fantasy fun, a bit of royal chaos, and a beautifully imagined world of dragons and humans … Very highly recommended.” –Asher Syed for Readers’ Favorite
At first glance, The Voice of the Wooden Dragon probably seems very different from Francis Bacon’s Hidden Hand. I would agree: they are very different! And yet, they came out of a common background, an interest in the Renaissance which began when I was an undergraduate at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Illinois, under the tutelage of Prof. Henry Vyverberg, cultural and intellectual historian, around 1980. I had wanted to choose Shakespeare authorship for an honors thesis topic. However, he encouraged me to choose something that “had not been done before.”
So, I wrote about Castiglione and Machievelli’s perceptions of women, the “real” versus the “ideal.” In researching that topic, I came across the Neoplatonist writers’ way of praising women, putting them on a pedestal, without affording them any real power. What a dangerous deception! The Voice of the Wooden Dragon explores the transformative power of art and the imagination, through the eyes of a female dragon who must learn to own her power. While The Voice of the Wooden Dragon is written to delight and entertain children and teens, there is “meat” to the story, even if the dragons of Deweydaire are vegetarians.
I wrote the first draft in 1983. I began revising it and sending it out to publishers ten years later . . . . Always, it remained near and dear to my heart. It was a story that had to wait for the right time and publisher. My children grew up with this story during the 90’s. They helped with ideas on revision and drew many charming illustrations for it. That was one reason I wanted Lane Waldman, my adult artist/writer offspring, to be the illustrator.
The Voice of the Wooden Dragon is available from NFB Publishing, Bookshop, Amazon, and other sellers.
Copyright, The Voice of the Wooden Dragon, by Christina G. Waldman, 2024 and Lane Waldman (art), 2024. All rights reserved.
Last updated 9-9-2026.