THE PAPER DRAGON

New York City, NY: Atheneum, 1997. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Atheneum, 1997. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 50 pages. Children's book classic. One of Robert Sabuda's finest achievements as a visual artist/illustrator rather than the Master Pop-up Artist he is now known to be. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run by Atheneum Press as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Marguerite W. Davol's and Robert Sabuda's "The Paper Dragon". Dazzling. "Mi Fei is a humble painter of scrolls. Although the scrolls bring him fame, Mi Fei is content to live in his village, surrounded by the people he loves. One day, a messenger enters the village with terrible news: The dragon Sui Jen has awakened from its hundred years' sleep and is destroying everything in its path. Someone must find a way to return Sui Jen to its slumber. To the villagers, only one among them is wise enough to confront the scary beast. Mi Fei. The power of the artist's vision and the ever-sustaining nature of love are brought together in Marguerite W. Davol's beautiful story, strikingly interpreted by Robert Sabuda in a series of gatefold illustrations that convey the storytelling majesty of the Chinese scrollmaker's art" (Publisher's blurb). A work of art, the book anticipates Sabuda's work as the pop-up artist of "Encyclopedia Mythologica: Dragons And Monsters". An absolute "must-have" title for Robert Sabuda and Marguerite W. Davol collectors. This copy is very boldly and beautifully signed and inscribed in black ink-pen on the front free endpaper by the artist: "Never fear Paper Dragons! Robert Sabuda". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. There is no recipient named. This title is a children's book classic. As far as we know, this is the only such signed and inscribed copy of the 1997 First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are in innumerable subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. Lavishly illustrated with color plates. One of the most brilliant children's book artist/illustrators of our time. The greatest pop-up artist of our time. A fine copy. . ISBN 0689319924.