Dragonsong
Fred Marcellino. New York: Atheneum 1976. First Edition. xv, [3], 3-202, [2] pages. 8vo. Publisher's black cloth in pictorial dust jacket. Small ink mark on front flyleaf, a little excess binding glue on the front joint, otherwise the binding is clean and sound. Dust jacket lightly rubbed, with a small closed tear upper right front panel, a small tear with associated creasing base of rear panel, and some scrunching at the head of the spine panel. Original price of $7.95 intact. Cover design by Fred Marcellino. An above average copy. Near Fine / Very Good. Cloth. [29483]
"Frustrated in her desire to express her musical talent and forced to live as girls are wont to in Half Circle, Menolly injures her hand. Recuperating, she witnesses the birth of fire lizards, survives Thread-fall out in the open, and eventually comes to the attention of the Masterharper, who wants Menolly to utilize her talent. As part of the Pern sequence, the novel provides a detailed escription of the birth of fire lizards, the small relatives of dragons, and is a slow but sensitive, somewhat unconventional revelation of a girl's coming of age." (Anatomy, p 433)
Winner in 1976 of the American Library Association Award for Notable Childrens' Books. Winner in 1976 of the Childrens' Book Showcase Award. Winner in 1977 of the Bornbook Fanfare Award. Winner in 1977 of the American Institute of Graphic Arts Book Show Aware for the cover illustration. A favorite writer of this cataloger!
COLLECTOR NOTES:
The first edition was 10,000 copies in three binding lots. The first lot used brown cloth, but a color shortage resulted in the rest of the printing being produced (as here) in black cloth.
LITERATURE:
Barron, "Anatomy of Wonder" (1995) 5-109. Best book selection.
Hargreaves, Mathew D., "Anne Inez McCaffrey: Forty Years of Publishing. An International Bibliography", 19.Aii
Price: $90.00