"The (In)Complete Book of Dragons (How to Train your Dragon Series) by Cressida Cowell (Hodder Children's Books). Dazzlingly brilliant!"

"So remind me again, why do you love Dragons so much, Charlotte?"

"Because they're magical, and can fly and if you annoy them they can burn you to a crisp!"

We've been talking about running a few special features on the blog, similar to the weekly themes we ran when we did a year long campaign encouraging parents to read to their children more (ReadItMummiesandDaddies).

Dragons have never been very far from our bookshelves in one form or another. Now Charlotte's old enough to enjoy Cressida Cowell's phenomenally brilliant "How to Train your Dragon" she's busily tucking into Book 1, and learning all about The Isle of Berk, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the fearless dragon chronicler and of course his trusty friend Toothless the not-quite-scary-but-could-give-you-a-nasty-nip teeny tiny baby dragon that Hiccup saves rather than slays.

How to Train your Dragon (Book 1) by Cressida Cowell and Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (Hodder Children's Books)

Cressida's books are now huge movie hits too, but we truly love the original stories and what's more, we REALLY love Cressida's original illustrations - particularly in "The (In)complete Book of Dragons" where all of dragonkind's secrets are laid bare for would-be dragon hunters and trainers the world over.

More dazzling dragons, this time in a gloriously illustrated and sumptuously presented bestiary...

"Secrets of the Dragon World - Curiosities, Legend and Lore" by S.A. Caldwell (Carlton Books)

As you can see from the dragon leaping out of the front cover, S.A. Caldwell's "Secrets of the Dragon World - Curiosities, Legend and Lore" from Carlton Books is a real feast for the eyes. All aspects of the dragon world are put under the microscope, fully immersing you in dragon lore and examining dozens of different species of dragons, their taxonomy, physiology and characteristics. Mixing together fantastic digital illustrations with beautiful pencil sketches and stunning renders, "Secrets of the Dragon World" is utterly amazing. We particularly loved seeing all the different dragon eggs and the dazzling colours and designs on them. A book to sprawl out on the floor with and really dig into.

For younger readers, there's plenty more fun to be had...

"Marmaduke the Very Different Dragon" by Rachel Valentine and Ed Eaves (Bloomsbury Publishing)

"Marmaduke the Very Different Dragon" by Rachel Valentine, with fantastic illustrations by Ed Eaves, really is the tale of a very unique little fellow. Marmaduke was born different to his brothers and sisters - where they're all scaly and loud, Marmaduke has big ears and sparkling orange skin - and despite having a huge pair of wings Marmaduke seems reluctant to try them out, to fly like his siblings.

Poor Marmaduke is quite forlorn, but when he meets a very different princess, perhaps the two can become firm friends and perhaps Marmaduke's 'differences' can be the making of them both.

We really love Marmaduke and we really really love Meg, the princess who prefers baseball boots and messy hair to prim and proper dresses.

Sticking with books for younger readers, this tale of motherly love and...penguins really made us sit up and take notice...

"Dragon loves Penguin" by Debi Gliori (Bloomsbury Publishing). Have tissues ready, this will make you cry!

In "Dragon Loves Penguin' by Debi Gliori, a mother dragon adopts an abandoned egg. When it hatches, the "baby dragon" inside really does look quite...strange. Flippers, a beak, slick feathers - in fact the baby dragon looks an awful lot like a penguin. As a bedtime story unfolds, we learn how a mother's love is strong enough to look beyond the differences, and is offered unconditionally. With tense excitement, and a tear-jerking end, this is such a brilliant and original dragon (and penguin) book that we really couldn't miss it off our list.

"The Secret Rescuers - The Storm Dragon" by Paula Harrison, illustrated by Sophy Williams (Nosy Crow) - "Her best book yet!" said a young reviewer - and we definitely can't argue with that!

Sometimes you can really get lost in a story that taps deep into your imagination and sense of wonder and conveys such a heartwarming tale that you could almost burst into tears as you reach the last page.

Debi Gliori is a master storyteller. She has a knack for producing the most immersive and involving stories. "Dragon Loves Penguin" is the touching tale of a little penguin called Bib who curls up on his mummy's knee one night to hear a bedtime story. Bib's favourite story is about the dragons and so Bib's mum settles down, snuggles tight and tells of the days when dragons freely roamed the earth. Slowly driven out of their homes, the dragons make their way to the realm of the penguins and hunker down atop a fiery snow-covered volcano for warmth.

One dragon isn't like the others, and when she discovers a lost egg, she vows to take care of it. Soon the egg hatches but it's not a dragon that emerges, it's a penguin - but the dragon loves it like it was her own.

The other dragons scoff and sneer but they stay together and the dragon is very protective of her offspring, despite how different she is and how she can't do all the things that the other dragon children do.

One day there is a huge rumble from the earth and the volcano erupts. Penguin spots the danger and urges the other dragons to fly before it's too late but poor penguin is left behind! Will no one save her from fiery doom?

We'll have to stop there in case we spoil too much of this wonderful tale. It's exciting, nail biting stuff and you owe it to yourself to discover the rest of the tale under your own steam.

Debi Gliori makes it look easy, to marry together the most wonderful stories with gorgeous artwork. We were already sold by the dragon on the cover long before we even read the story, but the content more than lives up to the wrapper in this case so wrap your peepers around this gorgeous children's book.

Charlotte's best bit: Little Penguin is SO CUTE! And what a genius idea to feature a story with penguins AND dragons

Daddy's Favourite bit: Superlative storytelling from Debi. Don't miss!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Bloomsbury Publishing)