This book is so wonderful. Published in 1977, it has a timeless grace and appeal which is amazing in every instance. It amazes me that this book is not better known, that there are those who love dragons, fantasy, or even just anyone who has ever had art inside of them that the people around them didn’t understand (read: every adolescent ever) who hasn’t read this book. For a novel which is so short, it packs a memorable and hard punch. Menolly is a gifted musician and trained song writer who is forbidden to play her music, and so flees to live in the wilderness, where she saves and befriends nine tiny dragons. Both this and its sequel are extraordinary as tales of a woman who knows the worth of her work and her need to live true to herself at any cost. Beautifully told, characters which stand up to the test of time, and by far my favorite tale within the world of Pern.