Author: Kate Klimo
Illustrator: John Schroades
© Date: 2008
Publisher: Yearling
Pages: 159
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: Not really, the start of each chapter has an illustration
Publisher Recommended Age: 8-12 years
Bonus Activities at End of Book: No
Summary from Book: Ten-year-old cousins Jesse and Daisy have always wanted something magical to happen to them. So it’s a dream come true when Jesse’s newly found thunder egg hatches and a helpless, tiny (but very loud) baby dragon pops out. Jesse names the bright green dragon Emmy, short for Emerald. Soon the two kids are at Emmy’s beck and call, trying to figure out what to feed her. An Internet search leads them to the library and then back to the Internet where they find a strange Web site called foundadragon.org. Here Jesse and Daisy discover that the little dragon’s hatching means that they are now “Dragon Keepers.” Not only do they have to feed Emmy, but they also have to protect her from the villainous Saint George, who has kept himself alive for centuries by drinking dragons’ blood!
Page Pig Thoughts: A pretty good read with lots of loose ends to make me wonder what the rest of the series is like. Although I debated downgrading my rating a level because I wasn’t a fan of the ending. Aunt Maggie comes home, falls in love with a dog, story ends quickly. I was left wondering what the twins were planning on doing with a dragon sized appetite for their new “pet dog” that is really a dragon using magic to appear as a dog. And the last interaction with St. George was him bemoaning a dog jumping on him, I guess he left the presence of the cousins after that, but there was no mention. Maybe the next book fills in all the gaps.
While it is reasonable that herpetologist may not be a common term for many children, I was a little sad that it was used as a bit of a joke that no one could remember the right term.
As a sidenote, while typing the back of the book description, I was intrigued that St. George apparently lived for hundreds of years by drinking dragon blood. When I read the book, I got that he wanted to drink dragon blood, but I apparently missed that he was hundreds of years old. Or maybe I didn’t miss it and the story wasn’t clear on that point. Either way, he was a villain and kinda creepy.
While this was a decent read, I don’t feel compelled to read any more in the series.
Use caution with younger or sensitive readers, St. George is kinda creepy and having him sitting outside the house in his car and causing other trouble could be upsetting.
Family Unit: Jesse (10yo) is staying with his cousin Daisy (10yo), Uncle Joe, and Aunt Maggie
Conflict/Social Issues:
- Jesse and Daisy are caring for Emmy, the baby dragon, but St. George insists that the “lizard” is his and that he needs to conduct tests on it at his herpetology lab.
- Jesse and Daisy are trying to keep Emmy a secret from Uncle Joe.
Positive Items:
- The message before the book begins: “The world is talking to us. Everything in it has a story to tell. All we have to do is sit quietly and listen. This story begins with a rock…”
- The cousins take on the philosophy of Kilimanjaro before Everest meaning not to try to solve all the issues at once, but take on one obstacle at a time.
- The cousins are able to rescue Emmy from being stuck in St. George’s lab in a tiny cage and an even sadder fate of him drinking her blood.
Items of Interest:
- Jesse had been on travels with his parents for his whole life. When he turned 10, he wanted to be independent and live in America. He is staying with his favorite cousin, Daisy, and her parents Joe and Maggie. His parents are setting up a children’s clinic in Tanzania. Jesse keeps a watch on his wrist to know what time it is in Tanzania and emails his parents daily. At the end of the story, he emails his parents and asks if he can stay longer than a year because he got a pet dog with Daisy.
- When Jesse and Daisy had been apart, they stayed connected by reading the same fantasy books and dreaming about when a magical adventure would find them.
- Early in the story, Aunt Maggie leaves on a business trip to Paris. She tells Joe, Daisy, and Jesse not to eat over the sink and keep the house in “apple pie order.” After saying goodbye, the three then walk back into the house and eat their cereal over the sink.
- Jesse and Daisy tell Uncle Joe where they plan to go for the day, then they are allowed to go and do what they feel like.
- Jesse and Daisy went to the library to research dragons. They wound up on the internet talking with some seemingly magical guy learning about how to care for a dragon. They talked with the guy several times throughout the story.
- After Emmy the dragon hatches, Jesse and Daisy ask Uncle Joe if they can keep the green basilisk lizard that they found. Yes, they lied about what the lizard really was to keep the dragon a secret but still be able to take care of her.
- Uncle Joe said that Daisy and Jesse needed to post signs for a found pet before they can keep the lizard. Dr St. George answers the purposely fuzzy/vague posters that the cousins made. He turned out to be the same person that Jesse saw on the mountainside when he found the thunder egg (thought it was a geode) and the same person driving the black car that had been outside the house. St. George was a herpetologist at the college and claimed that one of his assistants left the cage open.
- St. George is a creepy looking guy with dark breath and is supposed to the Dragon Slayer.
- The cousins lie many times to cover their tracks. They lie to everyone, St. George, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Maggie.
- Jesse and Daisy go to the college and steal Emmy back from the tiny cage that St. George was keeping her in. St. George then comes to their house, accuses them of theft, and proceeds to upturn the whole house with Uncle Joe while looking for the lizard. At this point, Uncle Joe is aware that the cousins are hiding something but doesn’t know what, so he is trying to be responsible and help the Dr find his lost lizard.
- Uncle Joe is furious with the cousins because he knows that they are hiding something. He tells them that they need to stay at home for the day and put everything back in order that was upturned with St. George. Daisy tells Jesse that it will be okay because Uncle Joe usually forgets what he is mad about. When Uncle Joe finds the cousins in the barn later that day, he is lighthearted with them. Had he forgotten what he was upset about or was he more angry with St. George who was with him at the barn? I guess the reader can figure that one out.
- Aunt Maggie was not in favor of Daisy having a pet because Aunt Maggie was still sad about the death of her beloved childhood sheepdog. When she comes home from her trip and sees a sheepdog on the steps with Jesse and Daisy, Aunt Maggie instantly falls in love and wants to ensure that the dog is properly cared for.
- Emmy the dragon masks herself as a sheepdog (appears/feels like a sheepdog with a forked tongue). Jesse and Daisy say that they got the dog from Miss Alodie and mysteriously, Miss Alodie not only independently goes along with the lie but elaborates on it. The cousins are allowed to keep the “dog” and are instructed to care for it as a dog should be tended. Nothing is mentioned about how they intend to feed the growing dragon or keep the secret going.
- Daisy has a baby locket that was passed down to her from her mother. When Daisy tells Aunt Maggie that she has found who she wants to pass the locket on to, Aunt Maggie asks if it is a boy because Daisy is still kinda young. Daisy says that she wants to give her locket to Emmy the dog. Aunt Maggie gets a little emotional because she had given the locket to her childhood dog.
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- 6 books are in the series