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The Voice of the Wooden Dragon is latest release from NFB Publishing

Oct 17, 2024 | Lifestyles

Things were not fair in Deweydaire, a land ruled by dragons, where humans worked while dragons played.

It was a surprise to author Christie Waldman when Marcus A. Dragon of Deweydaire first showed up — out of the blue — and made the “outrageous” claim that she had stolen his story by using material in his “secret notebooks.” Fortunately, she was able to placate him, and the two were able to work together to create The Voice of the Wooden Dragon. The debut novel was published by NFB Publishing last month in Buffalo. It is illustrated by Lane Waldman, the author’s talented offspring. Appropriate credit is given to Marcus on the title page.

The novel tells the story of three friends: Princess Meredith (a dragon), Peter Porter (a human), and Felix the court-jester (a dragon) and their struggles against Prince Rupert, Meredith’s bully cousin. It is meant to be a “fun read,” although it deals with serious themes such as friendship, fairness, risk-taking, and not giving up. It is the author’s hope that these themes will resonate with children as well as adults. 

Christie is a 1985 graduate of Southern Illinois University School of Law at Carbondale, Illinois. In fact, she first drafted this novel in the summer of 1983 after completing her first year of law school. The book includes a trial scene which was inspired, somewhat, by Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice. Christie hopes the book may help illustrate for children some of our basic constitutional rights, such as the rights to free speech and to trial by a jury of one’s peers — at least, as these rights existed in the Land of Deweydaire.

From the book’s back cover: “Things were not fair in Deweydaire, a land ruled by dragons, where humans worked while dragons played. Princess Meredith, a dragon, was willing to fight for the cause of human freedom, but even she had her limits. How could she have known that things would go so wrong when her intentions were so noble? Somehow, with the help of her friends both dragon and human, she must defeat the power of an illegal magic, find her way home to Deweydaire, and reclaim all that she has lost. What holds her back? And who will listen to the Voice of the Wooden Dragon?”

For more information on NFB Publishing or to purchase a copy of The Voice of the Wooden Dragon, please visit nfbpublishing.com.