Diary of a Dreadful Dragon: Volume 4

By Author / Illustrator

Ben Miller

Genre

Fairy Tales & Folk Tales

Age range(s)

Publisher

Simon & Schuster

ISBN

9781398541757

Format

Hardback

Published

26-03-2026

Synopsis

Once upon a time was only the start . . . welcome to the Fairytale Woods. Malc the dragon is on the hunt for treasure in a hilarious secret diary from bestselling author, comedian and actor, Ben Miller.

Banished from yet another kingdom, Malgundrax the dragon has arrived in the Fairytale Woods, eager to build up a new hoard of treasures . . . and when he joins the three bears' delivery company, it's the perfect cover for sneaking into homes and stealing shiny things! But when he starts making friends, stealing begins to lose its sparkle. Can this dragon change his ways? Or once a baddie, always a baddie?

Come down to the Fairytale Woods and discover what your favourite characters are really thinking in the bestselling series from Ben Miller, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli. Diary of a Big Bad Wolf, Diary of a Puss in Boots and Diary of a Wicked Witch available now.

Reviews

Amanda

Diary of a Dreadful Dragon is the forth book in the fabulous Fairytale Woods series by author, actor and comedian Ben Miller. Throughout this fast-paced chapter book, the audience has been carefully considered. The humour will appeal to the reader, ensuring that they stay engaged and want to read from cover to cover. The use of language will encourage a widening of vocabulary whilst allowing the reading to flow. The placement of the illustrations, use of blank space, font and text size used allow the story to be accessible and removes any fear from overloading the page.

The use of known fairy tale characters including Baby Bear, Mummy and Daddy Bear, Little Red and Jack, allows prior knowledge to be built on in a 'what happened next' scenario. Most readers will be able to identify with aspects of Malc the dragon's character, and the theme of a treasure-hunting dragon trying to mend his sneaky ways will have a wide appeal. The humour used throughout make it a perfect bedtime read.

The themes of friendship, unexpected heroism, changing our ways and influencing others also make it a perfect class story or reading for pleasure book for children. I am sure that this series will be incredibly successful and deserves to be in school libraries and reading areas, supporting children to read for pleasure.

240 pages / Reviewed by Amanda Shipton, teacher