Author: Tracey West
Illustrator: Graham Howells
© Date: 2015
Publisher: Scholastic – Branches
Pages: 90
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: Yes, every page layout has an illustration
Publisher Recommended Age: 6-8 years
Bonus Activities at End of Book: Yes, comprehension questions and two activity prompts
Summary from Book: The Dragon Masters are excited to go to Queen Rose’s kingdom! But King Roland makes Drake and Rori stay behind. Then a giant four-headed dragon attacks the castle! And Maldred is riding it! Will Drake and Rori be able to battle the dark wizard and his powerful dragon on their own?
Page Pig Thoughts: This was an enjoyable story with plenty of action. Bravery and patience were highlighted as the story of the Drake and Rori played out. I appreciated that not everything came easily for all of the Dragon Masters because Rori was clearly working at her own training pace, no matter how frustrating that was for her. I also appreciated Drake’s frustration as he knows that Worm has amazing skills but no one seems to see him as anything but ordinary looking. All things come around in their own time and Rori and Drake are able to help save the castle. I am curious to read the first book in the series, but this one was a good read that stood well enough on its own.
Use caution with younger or sensitive readers, Maldred and his poison spewing hydra may be scary.
Family Unit: Drake and Rori have family that lives in the kingdom, but live in the castle now with the other Dragon Masters and Griffith the wizard
Items of Interest:
- Four children are Dragon Masters, which means that they have a dragon that they are learning to connect with mentally and train.
- Each dragon is a different type with different abilities (fire, water, sunshine, earth, etc).
- Griffith the wizard oversees the Dragon Master training.
- Diego the wizard comes to watch over Drake and Rori when Griffith needs to take Bo and Ana to a different kingdom.
- The evil wizard, Maldred, has a plan to make everyone bow down to him. He has a stone that makes all dragons obey him.
- Rori goes a bit foolhardy and attempts to take on Maldred herself without any real plan or even a saddle to ensure that she stays on her dragon, Vulcan, while he flies around.
- Rori had been upset that she was the only Dragon Master that had not connected with her dragon. In the end, she finds her connection.
- Drake believes in his dragon, Worm, and his amazing abilities. He is disappointed that many people were judging Worm based on his appearance. In the end, Worm is shown off for his amazing mental abilities.
- Diego and Griffith are able to join their magic to send Maldred off to wizard prison.
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- 26 books are in the series
Update after reading Book 1 – Rise of the Earth Dragon:
- In the opening pages, a soldier comes and takes Drake out of the fields. Drake’s mother asks where the soldier is taking her 8yo boy. The soldier says the king has chosen him and will take good care of him. Drake knows not to ask questions because he should only speak when spoken to. The only other thing said is Drake’s mother calling for him to do as the king says. While this is likely time period correct, it is a rather jarring opening to the series knowing that the children are just taken from their homes with no choice of their own or say of their parents.
- Drake cannot read or write, so Bo helps him send a letter home to let his mother know that he is safe. His parents are able to write a note back asking for him to keep writing so they know he is safe.
- Overall thoughts: After the intriguing opening scene, this one was in line with Book 4. If you have reservations about the opening scene, you can just skip book 1. While learning the background of the characters is helpful, I don’t think this one has so much information that the recap notes at the start of the other books would not be sufficient to know what is going on. This series has plenty to enjoy for readers just starting chapter books.