Inside: Noggin and the Dragon

Due to when I was born, I was never in the perfect position to enjoy Noggin the Nog as a child. The final series aired a few months before I was born, and, along with the original 1959 - 65 run, wasn’t repeated on British television again until the early 1990s. Nonetheless, it entered my sphere of interest a few years ago for one simple reason: the dream team of Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin.

Two of the cornerstones of classic British children’s television, and indeed British television as a whole, Postgate and Firmin are responsible for some of the most magical memories ingrained in the national consciousness. And, being the marvels that they were, Postgate and Firmin never stopped their universes once their run on television had finished. Instead, they ensured there were expanded universes on offer to continue their gentle magic.

A little while back, I covered one of these ancilliary adventures in the form of Bagpuss on a Rainy Day, and it’s a story which didn’t disappoint, delivering everything a fan of the saggy, old cloth cat could ever want. Naturally, I wanted more of Postgate and Firmin’s output in front of me, and a chance encounter with a ‘community library in a bus stop’ left me the proud owner of Noggin and the Dragon, a story first published in 1966. And now it’s time to turn the pages and look inside.

This particular edition originates from 1974 - just 50 years old then - and appears to have originally been a library edition. I say ‘appears’ but it 100% was as there’s a delightful “HUMBERSIDE LIBRARIES - WITHDRAWN FROM STOCK 3RD MARCH 1988” stamp inside it. And it was sold for just 25p, which is 25p more than I paid for it. Anyway, it provides a nice piece of history for this particular copy, indicating that it must have passed through dozens upon dozens of small hands.

The book was originally published, in 1966, by Edmund Ward Publishers, but this 1974 reprint came courtesy of Kaye & Ward. It was part of a series of Noggin the Nog books, with eight individual stories published between 1966 - 73. The books fell under Edmund Ward’s ‘Starting to Read’ range - which also included adventures for Basil Brush - and, as you’ll see from the short, simplistic sentences, they’re clearly aimed at those who are new to reading.

Noggin, himself, only features at the beginning and end of Noggin and the Dragon, with Little Knut and Thor Nogson featuring as the main protagonists. But we’re here to know one thing and one thing only: is it any good? Of course it is, Postgate and Firmin and all that. Oh sure, it’s a simplistic story and, despite the 46 pages, it flies by due to the low word count, but it’s a charming little story, all twists, turns, bravery and a dash of comedy.

Little Knut, with his father’s warrior spirit running richly through his veins, has decided that he and his friends should go to Dragon Valley, to hunt dragons. Noggin has little concern about this adventure as he’s safe in the knowledge the dragons left Dragon Valley a long time ago. Just to err on the side of caution, though, he sends Thor Nogson along to keep an eye on Knut and his friends. And, you know what, they do find a dragon, or do they?

Perhaps just topping the story in terms of enjoyment, are Peter Firmin’s fantastic illustrations. Despite appearing, at first, simple line drawings, there’s something so pleasingly simple and unobtrusive about the illustrations that you can’t help but be pulled in by them. And when Firmin does go for the detail, which increases as the drama builds, it’s difficult to explain, but even his no-nonsense crosshatch shading and shadowing delivers a depth and atmosphere which few illustrators can.

Luckily, dear reader, I’m not going to leave you just at the mercy of your imagination when it comes to Noggin and the Dragon. I’ve dug out my scanner and uploaded the more intriguing sections of the book for you to feast your eyes upon. Yes, it’s set at a very basic reading level, but when it’s been handcrafted by the illustrious imaginations of Postgate and Firmin, you know it’s going to be enchanting.