Retold from the tale found in Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene, Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges is a classic for the modern ear.
Saint George wears hand-me-down armor to face his first foe – an unspeakably huge dragon. The princess Una rides next to him, leading the knight to her home, where the dragon is terrorizing her family and their subjects.
Hodges richly describes their journey, and the epic, three-day battle between the dragon and the knight. Each evening the dragon thinks it has defeated the knight, yet each night some part of nature refreshes and revives the knight, allowing him to fight another day.
As you can imagine, the knight finally wins the hard-fought battle. The grateful king gives his daughter, Una, in marriage to the knight.
It’s a beautiful story, Hodges lovely prose complimented by Trina Schart Hyman’s equally lovely and rich illustrations.
Recommended for ages 3 and up (as a read-aloud); ages 8 and up (as a reader).
Cultivating Readers 
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