The Floating Islands, by Rachel Neumeier

The Floating Islands, by Rachel Neumeier (Random House, 2011, YA, 388 pages)

When a volcano destroyes his home town, fourteen-year-old Trei finds himself sent off to the Floating Islands, his mother's home. His father's brother had refused to pay the fee to register him as a citizen of the mainland country of Tolounn.

Despite the pressure of grief, the sight of the islands, raised by dragon magic to float over the water fills Trei with wondering amazement. And from his first sight of the kajuraihi, men who soar through the sky on feathered wings, Trei knows he wants to become one of them. But can a half-island boy learn to see the winds?

His young island cousin, Araene, has dreams of her own--to escape the restrictive life of a woman and become a great chef. But she is fated to find the hidden doorway to the secret school where the island's mages are trained, for she has gifts of magic struggling to emerge (and one neat thing about her magic is that she tastes it, using her talents for cooking to help make sense of the magical).

Trei is accepted by the kajuraihi, and begins his training, and Araene, disguised as a boy, enters the secret school. But the Tolunnese have their hungry eye on the Floating Islands, and when they launch an expedition to seize them, Trie's loyalties, and his abilities, will be put to the test. And Areane finds herself responsible with the one thing that might save the islands--the egg of the dying fire dragon who lives at the islands' heart...

There are two parts to the book. The focuses on the minutiae of Trei and Araene's lives, as they explore the two schools (kajuraihi and magical) where they have found themselves. I utterly adored this part of the book--the secret school, in particular, is now right up there on my list of fictional schools of magic! Neumeier's detailed descriptions make things beautifully easy to imagine, and I could have read a whole book in which nothing more happened.

But then, in the second half of the book, war comes to the islands, and the focus shifts to that conflict, as Trei and Araene must put their new-found gifts to work to save their home. For Trei, this means coming to terms with his Tolunnese past--it is, after all, his father's country. And it is his understanding of the enemy that might tip the balance of the war...

My personal problem with reading about tense war situations in which I care deeply about the characters is that I am desperate to find out what happens to them! So the quality of my reading experience changed in this second part of the book--from happy, peaceful immersion in a beautifully created world to anxious page-turning-ness. I think I will enjoy this second half a lot more on subsequent re-readings (and yes, I will be re-reading this one), now that I know what happens! This part of the book has its own strength--it's here, in conflict, that the characters of the two young protagonists grow and develop.

I recommend this one specifically to those who enjoy books with strange and magical schools where young teenagers find their place in the world. For those who enjoyed Neumeier's first book, The City in the Lake, rest assured that the same beautiful writing is here; for those who were uncertain about that one, be assured that here the story swings along much more swingingly, following a much more straightforward arc of adventure and self-discovery.

Here's another review, at The Book Smugglers

Dragonbreath: Lair of the Bat Monster

Danny Dragonbreath, and his iguana pal, Wendell, have been through many hair-raising adventures together. They have their system down pat--"Danny was fearless, and Wendell was terrified, and it worked out between them" (page 163).

But in Lair of the Bat Monster, the fourth installment of Ursula Venron's Dragonbreath saga (Dial 2011, 202 pages), Wendell has to be the hero, and crawl into the titular lair to save his friend! Because Danny has been adopted, or captured, depending on how you look at it, by a mama Camazotz, the most giant of mythical bats...and only Wendell can crawl through the rocks to reach him.

This is perhaps the most comprehensible of all the Dragonbreath stories--sure, it's utterly fantastical, but it makes sense. And it's also, I think, the most overtly education--one learns quite a bit about bats (the real ones). This time out, Danny and Wendell have headed down to Mexico, where Danny's cousin (a feathered serpent dragon named Steve) is a bat researcher.

Comprehensible and educational are both things I like, and the humor that I've come to expect from this series is here too. But as usual, what really appeals to me are Vernon's lovely drawings. I utterly adore the expressions with which she endows her characters--they make me happy.

A great one for the 8 to 10 year old looking for some fun!

Other thoughts at TheHappyNappyBookseller

The Dragons of 2010

To celebrate the last day of 2010, here's a list of all the Middle Grade and Young Adult dragon books from 2010! There are lots here I haven't read (which, since all I seem to have done in 2010 is read, baffles me more than somewhat). The blurbs in quotation marks, therefore, are lifted from the publishers' descriptions.

Ancient, Strange, and Lovely: the Dragon Chronicles by Susan Fletcher. "In a new dragon novel by Susan Fletcher, Bryn must save a dracling from a dangerous modern world that seems to have no place for an ancient dragon."

Attack of the Ninja Frogs and Curse of the Were-Wiener by Ursula Vernon. 2010 was a happy year--two new Dragonbreath books! I do so adore these stories, part elementary chapter books, part graphic novels. They are laugh out loud funny. Danny Dragonbreath is an utterly engaging draconic hero, and his adventures are utterly delightful. Here's my review of Ninja Frogs, here's my review of Were-Wiener.

The Coming of the Dragon by Rebecca Barnhouse. A beautiful historical fantasy that re-tells the story of Beowulf versus the Dragon from the point of view of Rune, a young boy who must stand up beside the king he loves against a horrible evil. I highly recommend it--here's my review.

The Dragon in the Library: Dragon Keepers by Kate Klimo. "Dragon keepers Jesse and Daisy need help! Emmy, their rapidly growing dragon, has become a real grouch, saying she's missing "something," and the cousins don't have a clue what that something is. Jesse and Daisy go online to ask Professor Andersson, their favorite dragon expert, for help and end up seeing him being kidnapped! The kidnapper is none other than Sadie Huffington, the girlfriend of their enemy, St. George the Dragon Slayer. She has hatched a wicked scheme to use the professor to both find St. George and capture Emmy. Now the dragon keepers and their dragon must storm Sadie's castle and rescue the professor from the witch and her pack of vicious dog-men!"

Dragon Games: The Books of Umber by P. W. Catanese. Sequel to Happentance Found. I'm not sure that the baby dragons actually play enough of a role in this one to justify its inclusion, but I'm a fan of this series, which tells of the fantastical adventures of a young boy (Happenstance) and his mysterious guardian, Lord Umber (who reminds me a bit of Diana Wynne Jones' Howl). Lots of adventure of the wildly creative sort, and characters I care about. And some bonus baby dragons toward the end.

Elspeth: Shadow of the Dragon by Kate O'Hearn. “Kira and Elspeth have already broken First Law many times over. Now outlawed and running for their lives, they are determined to stand amongst the men and fight the unjust First Law that binds the kingdom. But cruel Lord Dorcon still stands in their way and the heat of his chase is stronger than ever. A prophecy to fulfill, a cruel monarchy to upend.”

The Final Quest: Secrets of Droon by Tony Abbott "An immortal dragon. A long hidden secret. The kingdom of Droon is at the brink of war. . . The situation in Droon has never been more desperate. The wizard Galen is missing. Eric has been forced undercover with Gethwing, the all-powerful Moon Dragon. And millions of beasts are assembling outside Jaffa City, ready to attack Droon's capital. Eric, Keeah, Neal, and Julie will do whatever it takes to save their beloved kingdom. But to defeat the Moon Dragon, they'll need to uncover the greatest secret in all of Droon. . . ."

Found: The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas. Trouble is, once again, hot on young Conn's heels. In this third book of the Magic Thief series, he finds himself exiled from his city. Searching for his locus magicalus, a stone that would focus his powers of magic, he finds a dragon instead...I am awfully fond of young Conn, and happy to see him return to his old form in this third book of the series after a rather somber second book. Eminently readable--I found myself very reluctant to put it down when looking at it again this morning....and might well have to finish re-reading it later today!

Gauge: The Dragons of Wayward Crescent by Chris D'Lacey. "The town council wants to demolish the old clock and replace it with a fancy modern one. Lucy's mother is determined to stop it -- with the help of a timing dragon named Gauge. Will Gauge, Lucy and the ghost Sir Rufus Trenchchomb be able to outsmart Councilman Roger Trustable before time runs out?"

Gold Dragon Codex: The Dragon Codices by R.D. Henham. "When the blue dragon Lazuli threatens to destroy Sandon's village of Hartfall, Sandon vows to locate the legendary gold dragon, once Hartfall's sworn protector, and convince it to return. Sandon finds the gold dragon's lair--only to stumble on a secret that throws everything he thought he knew about his home and his family into question. Filled with everything readers love about dragons--power, action, and intrigue--this tale shows what one boy can accomplish when he finds the strength of a dragon lies within himself."

How to Ride a Dragon's Storm by Cressida Cowell. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, everyone's favorite reluctant Viking hero, has three months, five days and six hours to discover America, get back to Berk, save his father, battle Polarserpents and win the annual Inter-Tribal Friendly Swimming Race. Can he do it?"

Ivy's Ever After by Dawn Lairamore. Ivy doesn't want to marry Romil, Prince Charming dude who showed up to claim her, and her kingdom. He's a jerk. So she joins forces with an undersized dragon to thwart his evil plans...it's a lighthearted adventure, that should be pleasing to those who enjoy fun riffs on fairy tale conventions. (my review).

Knights of the Ruby Wand: Secrets of Droon by Tony Abbott. "Oh no! The secret of Droon is a secret no longer. Eric's mother knows about the rainbow staircase . . . and what's worse, so does Gethwing. The Moon Dragon has sent his minions to the Upper World to search for a magical object that could give him power over all of Droon. Now no place is safe from Gethwing's dark magic. . ."

The Last Hunt, by Bruce Coville. In this fourth volume of the Unicorn Chronicles, the land of Luster is in turmoil. Young Cara, half girl, half unicorn, must set off on a quest to find a dragon...or the unicorns will be hunted and killed. This was one I read for the Cybils, and I've not read the first three books, so the various maelstroms of danger and action into which I was plunged (lots of characters, lots of different story lines) made for a dizzying experience....I think I need to play catch-up to appreciate this one...

No Such Thing as Dragons by Philip Reeve. Ansel's new master is taking him high into the snowy mountains, to find a dragon, and slay it. That's what professional dragon slayers do, after all. But though this man knows there's no such thing as dragons, there is something waiting for them up in the snow...something very much like a dragon. Not a friendly one. This is exiting historical fantasy, scary and gripping as all get out (my review).

A Practical Guide to Dragon Magic by Susan Morris. "Do you wish you could fly on wings of your own? Breathe fire? Cast spells in the blink of an eye? These are the secrets only dragon magic can teach you. In this next edition in the Practical Guide family of fantasy essentials, dragon expert Sindri Suncatcher opens up his notebooks one last time to give readers an insider's look into the Darastrix Academy, a place where young wizards and dragon hatchlings live side-by-side mastering the powerful magic that makes dragons so special. For every fantasy fan who loves dragons and wants to know everything about these enigmatic creatures, this book reveals the greatest dragon secrets of all."

Shadow: Dragon Orb by Mark Robson "Pell and his night dragon Shadow must find the dark orb to help save the Oracle, leader of all dragonkind. But Segun, a power-hungry tyrant, stands in their way. Pell must use his flying skills, bravery, and resourcefulness to the limit, as Segun is determined to get the orb—even if it means killing the opposition."

Ultimate Magic: Merlin's Dragon by T. A. Barron. This is third book of a series, and I read it expecting to be confused. But instead, when I found myself plunged into a great battle, with a great dragon named Basil leading the defenders of Avalon against various bad guys, I found myself drawn into the story....and I was happy to follow Basil, and sundry other characters, off in their subsequent quest to defeat the evil mastermind behind it all, Doomraga. Basil is perhaps the most Heroic dragon of all those published in 2010...

The Wyverns' Treaure: Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist by R. L. LaFevers. This third book about young Nathaniel is my favorite of the series to date, in large part due to LaFevers wonderful way with wyverns. Nathaniel and Aunt Phil are off to Wales in this book, where the wyverns are in an uproar. Someone has intruded into their territory, and the truce keeping them from pillaging the Welsh countryside is in jeopardy...never have Nathaniel's Beastologist skills been put to so fraught a test! With this book, I began to feel as though I were at last travelling toward answers to the larger mystery of the series--the fate of Nathaniel's missing parents--and this made the story more spacious and meaningful. The simple yet satisfying prose, numerous illustrations, and light touches of comic relief that characterize this series make it perfect for many an upper elementary reader. And the wyverns in this particular book are great.

Young Adult

Dragons are holding their own in books for teenagers quite nicely! I knew there were lots of mg dragons, but there are plenty for older readers as well.

The Battle of the Sun by Jeanette Winterson "Jack is the chosen one, the Radiant Boy the Magus needs in order to perfect the alchemy that will transform London of the 1600s into a golden city. But Jack isn’t the kind of boy who will do what he is told by an evil genius, and soon he’s battling to save London in an epic and nail-biting adventure featuring dragons, knights and Queen Elizabeth I."

Has anyone read this? It sounds good.

The Dragon's Apprentice: the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica by James A. Owen. "Seven years after the events of The Shadow Dragons, John, Jack and Charles are finally able to return to their beloved Archipelago of Dreams. But even as their return is celebrated by old friends, new concerns shadow the reunion: the threat of Ecthroi, primordial Shadow. And perhaps even worse, the apparent splintering of Time itself. Now, the Caretakers must fight against their most fearsome enemy ever and attempt to restore Time. They must journey through a forgotten Door from the destroyed Keep of Time in order to seek out the Dragon's Apprentice. If they fail, it will mean the end of both of the worlds. But success will carry its own price--a price that may be too high even for the Caretakers to bear."

Dragons of Darkness by Antonia Michaelis. Two boys, Jumar, an invisible prince of Nepal, the other Christopher, a German boy searching for his kidnapped brother, join forces in an incredible journey through the mountains. There they see the havoc wrought by the beautiful but deadly color dragons, who steal all that is good and beautiful wherever their shadows pass. The grey rice in the fields has no sustenance, and worse still, any person touched by a dragon's shadow becomes a bronze statue. The suffering of the mountain people is exacerbated by the war between the Maoists and the Royalists. The rebel cause becomes real to the boys in the person of Nayu, a girl their age who is recruiting for the Maoists. She is brave, she is beautiful, and both boys fall hard for her... Jumar, Nayu and Christopher must journey bravely through mountains where death--in the beauty of a dragon's wing, in the muzzle of a gun, in the land itself-- could lie around every corner. And it would be a lot easier if they were sure what they were looking for...(my full review)

The Dragons of Noor by Janet Lee Carey "A dreamwalker who has lost her way. A shape shifter who fears his own dark power. A fire herd punished for his magic. Can these three teens keep the human world of Noor and the magical world of Oth from splitting apart? The ancient trees of Noor are dying. If the blight kills the last azure trees whose deep roots bind the worlds, the bridge between Noor and Oth will split apart forever. Already as Hanna, Miles, and Taunier sail to the source of the blight, the rent between the worlds is widening, and magic is going out of Noor. The quest deepens when a strange wind blows across Noor stealing young children, and Hanna is powerless to protect her younger brother from the stealing wind. The Three journey east to the azure forests of Jarrosh. East to the dragon lands. East to the place where the wind-stolen children were taken. In Jarrosh, among dragons, the Three will be challenged to discover their hidden powers. Each of them must break beyond the boundaries of self to discover the ancient magic joining all to all."

Choke: Pillage by Obert Skye. "Choke....continues the eccentric adventures of Beck Phillips, who seems to have a knack for causing mischief in the secluded village of Kingsplot. In book one, Beck used his unique gift to unexpectedly hatch several dragon eggs. Thankfully, the dragons were destroyed . . . or were they? In Choke, a stranger has discovered that Beck Phillips is the key to finding and hatching a lost dragon s egg a task that will bring the riches and fortune that Beck s family was destined to have. Beck learns that outward appearances can be deceiving and that grown-ups really do have valuable lessons to offer. Readers will laugh out loud at Beck s antics and sit on the edge of their seats while Beck and his friends confront Liz, the largest, most ferocious dragon Beck has ever seen!"

Firelight by Sophie Jordan. "Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy."

Heartless, by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. "Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon marry. She dreams of a charming prince, but when her first suitor arrives, he's not what she'd hoped. Prince Aethelbald of mysterious Farthestshore has travelled a great distance to prove his love--and also to bring hushed warnings of danger. A dragon is rumored to be on the hunt and blazing a path of terror.

Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald's offer--and ignores his cautions with dire consequences. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in his sights. Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil."

Starlighter: Dragons of Starlight by Bryan Davis. "Dragons are enslaving humankind and a black egg signals the end of the world. Jason Masters must journey to another realm and join forces with a slave girl named Koren to rescue the captives and save two worlds from destruction. What if the Legends Are True? Jason Masters doubted the myths: people taken through a portal to another realm and enslaved by dragons. But when his brother is taken, he must uncover the truth and find the portal before it's too late. Once he's through the portal, he meets Koren, a slave in the dragons' realm, who struggles to destroy a black egg prophesied to doom all mankind. Jason and Koren must work together to save their two worlds before the dragons learn that their secrets have been discovered."

Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn. Here's what I said in my review: "a rather unusual fantasy, in that it combines contemporary YA-ness--the heroine's best girl friend who is putting the pressure on her to grow up, the developing relationship with the cute boy-- with Dragons. And the result is a rather fun, rather interesting, and more than somewhat memorable story. " In an alternate modern world, there's human territory, and dragon territory, and the two stay seperate. But Kay breakes the rules...and becomes friends with a dragon. Will their friendship bring peace, or will it exacerbate the existing tensions and lead to war? I'm looking forward to the sequel (my full review).

Wings of Fire, edited by Jonathan Strahan and Marianne S. Jablon. A rich anthology of dragon stories both old (Ursula Le Guin's The Rule of Names) and new (included are two never before published stories by Holly Black and Margo Langevin). Other big names include George R.R. Martin, Naomi Novick, and Charles De Lint. The editors set out to gather together the best dragon stories the could, and the result is a hefty book with much to enjoy-- some stories delight, and others disturb...

Zog, by Julia Donaldson --a dragon picture book in verse

Zog, by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler (Alison Green Books, 2010 in the UK)


By happy chance the Book Depository accidentally included this picture book in with my recent order, and said I was welcome to keep it. I'd heard about this one--it was the winner of the Galaxy Children's Book Award in 2010, and Julia Donaldson was well known to me already as the author of The Gruffalo.

"Madam Dragon ran a school, many moons ago.
She taught young dragons all the things that dragons need to know.

Zog, the biggest dragon, was the keenest one by far.
He tried his hardest every day to win a golden star."

But alas for Zog! He is rather accident prone, and his efforts to fly, roar, and breath fire all come to painful conclusions. Happily, he is rescued each time by a girl who ministers to his hurts...and when it comes time for the next test of draconic ability, Princess Kidnapping, Pearl is there for him again, kindly allowing herself to be captured.

Pearl stays with the dragons, serving as their resident doctor...but princess kidnapped by dragons have a habit of attracting knights who want to rescue them (even if they don't want to be rescued).

"A year went by, and in Year Five, the dragons learned to fight.
"Right!" said Madam Dragon. "Here comes a real live knight!"

"Up spoke the knight: "My name," he said,
"is Gadabout the Great.
I've come to rescue Princess Pearl.
I hope I'm not too late."

But all ends happily, with Pearl, the knight, and Zog setting off to begin a new career as the Flying Doctors.

It's fun, it's charming, and it has a nice point. The verse in which it is written both scans nicely and has great swing to it. I don't quite see it as an award winner myself, but Zog and co are truly likable dragons who should delight the young reader.

It's handy to have a book in verse to contribute to Poetry Friday! The round-up is at Carol's Corner today.

The Coming of the Dragon, by Rebecca Barnhouse

The Coming of the Dragon, by Rebecca Barnhouse (2010, Random House, middle grade/ya, 301 pages)

Anyone who wants lovely historical fiction with a dragon added need look no further than this one!

After defeating Grendel and his mother, Beowulf got to enjoy a long stretch of peace as king of the Geats. Peace of a sort, that is--a festering feud with a neighboring people keeps things somewhat on edge, but at least the dragon rumored to live up in the mountains still sleeps. But when an ill-wishing man from far away steals a golden treasure from the dragon's hoard, it flies out, wrecking havoc and bringing death with its fiery breath.

Young Rune was the first to see it, and while he ran to warn the king, the dragon destroyed the only home he had ever known, and killed the old woman who had raised him. Rune has no other family--he was found as an infant in a boat washed ashore years, and has no idea who he might truly be. He dreams, though, of one day being a warrior in Beowulf's great hall, winning glory enough to impress the lovely Wynn.

But the dragon's coming changes that. Now Rune's one goal is to defeat the dragon....a dragon who might well prove more than a match for even a great hero like Beowulf.

Barnhouse does a delightful job bringing this last chapter of the saga of Beowulf to life, and I was completely satisfied with the historical accuracy of her story. I spent several years studying things Anglo-Saxon, but never, to my shame, have read Beowulf all the way through...so my satisfaction is not as watertight as it might be! However, it is almost unheard of for me not to find nits to pick in most historical fiction, and it was so nice not to find any here. I was reminded of Rosemary Sutcliff, my favorite writer of historical fiction,who taught me most of what I know about the Romans.

Rune, a teenage boy struggling to find his place in life, struggling to be brave in the face of the un-faceable, is a believable hero who is put in an impossible place and rises to the challenge. He's not one of your cocky, self-assured heroes who will clearly come out on top; rather, he's one of the self-doubting ones, who finds in himself more than he ever imagined. His character development comes not just from central problem of the dragon, but is also bound up in the larger, more complex questions of the mystery of his origins, and the future that awaits him.

There is magic, and the gods are at work, but these fantastical elements are subtle, and integrated into the fabric of the story in a way that strengthens the central plot, rather than distracting the reader. And finally, the great cast of supporting characters includes some strong-minded girls, although, in as much as this is Rune's rather dragon-centric story, they don't get as much page time as the boys do! My only area of vague dissatisfaction was the ending, which seemed a bit forced and rushed.

However, despite that one reservation, I think this is one of those rare books that I enjoyed just as much now as I would have when I was the age of the intended audience, which is to say lots.

Other reviews: Manga Maniac Cafe and Library Lounge Lizard

Dragonsong and Dragonsinger, by Anne McCaffrey, for Retro Friday

I have a slew of books read for the Cybils whimpering to be reviewed, but my brain is fried. So today I offer two books that blew my mind back when I was 12 or so--Dragonsong (1976) and Dragonsinger (1977) by Anne McCaffrey, for Retro Friday.

I will now try to type the first line of Dragonsinger from memory (it's been a number of years since I've re-read it): "When Menolly, daughter of Yanus Seaholder, arrived at the Harper Crafthall, she came in style, aboard a bronze dragon." (I scored 100%)

Menolly lives on the planet of Pern, a place where dragons flame a deadly organism called Thread (nasty stuff, that devours anything organic it touches) from the sky. The seahold (carved out of solid rock, like most Pernese settlements, so as to be safe from Thread) where Menolly grew up had rigid ideas about gender roles. Menolly, wonderfully talented in every aspect of music, was the protegee of the harper, but when he died, her father regarded her as an embarrassment. After her hand is almost crippled by an injury that puts a stop to her playing, she can't stand life in the repressive sea hold and runs away to live by herself.

Happily for Menolly, she isn't lonely for long. The cove where she chooses to live is home to fire lizards, small cousins of the dragons, and she manages to form a psychic bond with nine of fire lizard hatchlings. They are company, but still she longs for music, and dreams of the Harper Hall, Pern's central institute for music.

Through a somewhat complex series of events, Menolly arrives at the great caverns of the Harper Hall (on board a bronze dragon)....and Dragonsinger begins.

Imagine a boarding school book in which all the lessons are about music--instrumental, vocal, composition....Imagine this boarding school is on another planet, with different customs, technology, and dragons (and marvellous, beautiful, firelizards who can share your heart...), and complicated political situations taking place that Menolly only dimly understands, but which provided much depth to the story. And imagine Menolly herself, whisked from cave life into this setting, confused and disoriented...and facing considerable disapprobation from both the pampered girl students, who are ancillary to the central school, and from masters and boys who resent her for being a girl (and for being better than them!). All the while she has to contend with the challenge of her injured hand--will she be able to regain full use of it, and achieve her full potential as an instrumentalist?

Menolly's journey from scared waif to confident musician is a truly enjoyable experience. McCaffery includes such a wealth of detail in her telling that I can hardly think of any other book that is clearer in my mind (although the fact that I've read it c. 100 times might be a factor). I especially love the detailed music-specific bits--what is it like to play in a string quartet, sight-reading the music, with some the best musicians on your planet? And the scene where she chooses a guitar from the instrument store room is the best guitar choosing scene ever.

I do hope that other 11/12 year olds girls are still finding this book...it is so much fun! And even inspirational, although as a cynical adult Menolly's musical wonderfulness grates just a tad (or maybe a bit more that a tad....).

It's interesting to look a my old paperback copy of this. I've read so much modern middle grade fiction recently that the text of this one looks horribly small and dense--it's 240 pages, but it would probably be about 500-600 as a modern hardcover, with curlicue pictures of firelizards in the margins. The modern version on Amazon, with a very different cover, is 320 pages....(I like the covers from my childhood books, shown here, best!)

Note on age--Menolly's an adolescent girl, just beginning, toward the end of Dragonsinger, to think about boys. They are both perfectly clean reads, but fairly sophisticated, language-wise. McCaffery might be writing about a young girl, but she doesn't write down to her audience at all.

Dragonbreath: Curse of the Were-Wiener!

This afternoon the boys and I walked up the steep flank of Wolf Hill, kicking acorns and rustling leaves with our feet, and climbed the treacherous granite ledge that lets one sneak through a fence into the back parking lot of our local Barnes and Noble. Anticlimax, perhaps, but we left with the book we wanted--the exquisitely seasonally-appropriate Curse of the Were-Wiener, by Ursula Vernon (2010, Dial, upper elementary/younger middle grade, 208 pages, although there are lots of pictures).

This is the third of Vernon's books about a young dragon, Danny Dragonbreath, and his best friend, an iguana named Wendell. And this adventure is perhaps their darkest yet. The titular were-wiener is a Dark Creature of Horror, and it bites poor Wendell, setting in motion a hideous transformation. The two young reptiles have little hope of defeating the evil alpha wurst. Unless...they can find the living potato salad that we last saw, in book 1, disappearing down a storm drain.

But forget my summary--just watch the book trailer (and I almost never ever (this is only the second time) put up book trailers, but I love this one. And it shows you what the artwork looks like. And it's Spooky....).




Me and my boys love Dragonbreath. With dry humor coupled with whatever the opposite of dry humor is*, oodles of charm in the drawings of the reptile lads, just the right amount of grossness (that is, enough to amuse them while not disgusting me), and an exciting story (will the potato salad remember them, or will it attack???), this is a lovely book to put into the hands of the young reader, and to enjoy oneself.

*here's an example--Wendell's mother buys him Periodic Table of Elements bandaids. "We put the pain back in learning!" says the box. Hee hee hee. I would totally buy them.

Dragonart Evolution: How to Draw Everything Dragon, by J "NeonDragon" Peffer

Yesterday afternoon the boys and I had a very pleasant time drawing dragons, with the help of a new book -- Dragonart Evolution: How to Draw Everything Dragon, by J "NeonDragon" Peffer (Impact, 2010, 144 pages). It's the sort of book that just makes you want to open it up and start drawing....so we did!

In her book, Peffer emphasises the importance of getting a basic grasp of dragon anatomy--thinking how bones and muscles work together to create realistic creatures. She doesn't immediately plunge the book's users into step by step drawing of particular dragons, but encourages them to practice--the basic shapes, the framework, the building blocks. For particular aspects of detailed anatomy, she offers a variety of approaches.

I have tried dragon drawing in the past, and I have found that I have trouble with scales--all that repetition is daunting. But! I fear scales no more. With the help of Dragonart Evolution's six handy scale patterns, each presented in four steps, I feel that there is hope for my scale drawing (no pun intended). And this is just one of the many very, very detailed aspects of dragon drawing included in this book. Jaws, beaks, ears, wings, crests....all are offered to the book's user in a variety of shapes and manifestations. You can see the two page spread on Ears (and other pages of the book) here!

In the next section, the practitioner is encouraged to draw a wide variety of whole dragons, step by step from rough shapes to fine detail (I particularly liked the baby dragon, with its discussion of how the youngster would differ anatomically from the adult). It helps to have practiced hard with sketch after sketch of dragon anatomy before trying any of these; without doing that, one might not (and I speak from experience) get a decent final picture (there are reasons why I am not posting what I drew yesterday!). It's not a book for younger kids, who may well get frustrated (which my seven year old did, although he was the only one who actually finished a picture, but he's not allowing me to post it).

But creating perfect copies of particular dragons isn't the point of this book--it is more a set of practice templates, that can be used to build the skill set of the aspiring artist. I think that if I kept practicing, using this book's suggestions, I could create rather nice dragon drawings...They would look very different from Peffer's dragons (which I think of as the graphic novel/computer game sort of dragons), but they would, almost certainly, be more anatomically correct, and more diverse, than what I draw now!

In short, it's easy to recommend this book to any ten year old on up who wants to try their hand, or hone their skills, at dragon drawing.

I think this is the sort of a book that makes a great present (when you want to buy a book for a kid, and don't know what's on his or her shelves), especially when coupled with, perhaps, a deluxe watercolor set, or a copy of Photoshop. I include the later because a useful bonus feature of the book is a four page guide to digital painting, which is how the author creates her own artwork. I'm not sure it's enough in and of itself to teach novices how to create digital art, but it seems as though it would be helpful.

Here's another fine dragon drawing book, rather different in approach, that I reviewed long ago--Ralph Masiello's Dragon Drawing Book (2007, Charlesbridge)

(disclaimer: review copy of Dragonart Evolution received from the publisher)

The Non-fictin Monday Round-up is at Madigan Reads today! (her book for the round-up is also fantasy/crafty--zombie felties!!!)

No Such Thing As Dragons, by Philip Reeve

No Such Thing As Dragons, by Philip Reeve (2010 in the US, Scholastic, middle grade, 185 pages)

"There were no such things as dragons, were there? Only in stories. Only in tales told around the hearth on winter's nights, to set you shivering with cozy fear. Only in pictures."

So young Ansel tells himself as he rides north into the mountains, following in the wake of Brock the Dragon Slayer. One morning he'd been the unwanted youngest son of a tavern keeper, mute since his mother's death. The next, his father has handed him over to be Brock's servant. Now, headed off to look for dragons, Ansel is understandably concerned with their reality.

Brock himself isn't a believer. His handy crocodile skull is all he needs to convince gullible folk that he's a true dragon slayer. But their journey is taking them up into a snowy mountain range where strange things are happening--just the sort of things you'd expect if there really was a dragon.

The villagers believe, so much so that they have left a girl, named Else, up in the heights to serve as a dragon offering. Ansel and Brock try hard not to believe...but when they, and Else, are actually being pursued by a ravenous flying worm, it's pretty impossible not to.

No Such Thing as Dragons combines adventure and well-drawn characterization in a delightfully succinct story. Once Ansel, Brock, and Else meet the dragon, Reeve gives us an almost minute by minute account of what happens, bringing to vivid life the desperate immediacy of their situation, as the dangers of the natural world--the snow, and ice, and the creature itself-- beset them fiercely. Reeve brings to life the entire range of the struggling in snowy mountains experience, from generic chilly plodding to utterly panicked conviction that death is imminent.

Although my memories of the mountains are the most vivid (overshadowing even the dragon), Ansel, Brock and Else became nicely clear in my mind as well. They are given just enough back story to be credible, given just enough guts to get off the mountain alive, and are allowed to show very human weakness (some more than others). I liked very much that Ansel isn't a Chosen One. He doesn't suddenly develop unrealistic abilities and become an extraordinary hero; he remains solidly a boy, one forced by desperate circumstance to persevere in the face of danger. Else, too, is not a stock damsel in distress; she is a nuanced character in her own right. Even Brock, so used to telling the one-dimensional story of himself as Great Dragon Slayer, gets to become a real, believable, person. Each of these characters must question themselves--courage, trust, and loyalty are all put to the test when the possibility of death by dragon becomes all too real.

The result is a compelling page-turner of a story that feels entirely plausible. Those who equate dragons with High Fantasy-esque questings and magics might be a tad disappointed; those who love historical fiction merged with the fantastical should enjoy it lots.

Other reviews can be found at Book Aunt and Book Ends.

Ivy's Ever After, by Dawn Lairamore

Ivy's Ever After, by Dawn Lairamore (2010, Holiday House, middle grade, 311 pages)

Ivy is a princess of a tiny kingdom, one that's virtually inaccessible. There she has a had a rather idyllic childhood (with only the shadow of her mother's death long ago, and her father's consequent addle-pattedness, to mar it), enjoying the sort of freedom denied princesses of larger, more important kingdoms. But now that Ivy is approaching her fourteenth birthday, everything changes.

It became clear long ago that Ivy's kingdom has little to offer other principalities, and so it was hard to attract princes to come marry its princesses. But Ivy's kingdom does have one resource, of a sort--there are dragons just to the north, and dragons, as everyone knows, have treasure. To keep bloodshed on both sides to a minimum, a truce had been reached with the dragons. Every princess who was the heir to the throne was imprisoned in a tower, and a dragon came to guard her--tempting bait for any heroic prince who wanted treasure and a kingdom (albeit a tiny one).

And now, generations later, it's Ivy's turn for the tower. Ivy is not at all happy when she learns about this. And she is even less so when a prince arrives early-a truly objectionable prince who sneers unkindly at her kingdom, her father, and herself. When she learns he's simply plotting to use her kingdom as a stepping stone to seizing power back in his own country, and would happily break the truce with the dragons, she is even more appalled.

Her father is oblivious to the truth, and puts her in the tower as custom dictates, but Ivy isn't going to stay put while her kingdom is destroyed. On a rope of sheets and clothes, she climbs down...and almost makes it before falling the last bit.

"Oh dear, oh dear," came a trembly voice very near her right ear. "That was close!"

Startled, Ivy opened her eyes. Her vision filled with an expanse of shiny black skin, scaled like a fish, along with a golden eye as round and wide as the mouth of a soup bowl, which was studying her in distinct alarm.

"Good goat fur," said the owner of the large eye. "I do believe you're actually supposed to stay inside the tower." (page 91)

And so Ivy meets Elridge. A dragon who clearly has no chance of dispatching the objectionable prince, but who is open to the idea of become friends....and gaining the respect of dragon kind by foiling the objectionable princes plans to break the dragon truce. So together Elridge and Ivy set out flee from the tower, desperately seeking Ivy's lost fairy godmother, the one person who might be able to set things right.

Full of action-packed, magical encounters, Ivy and Elridge's quest moves swingingly along. It's a light, fun story, very fairy-tale-ish in feel. Although it didn't, for me, ever become truly enchanting (the light and fun aspects of the book, although diverting, didn't pack that much emotional punch, and the story was not one I found wildly original), it should be enjoyed lots by its target audience. Ivy is a fine figure of a plucky princess, and Elridge, although not a fine figure of a dragon (by draconian standards at least) is a likable and interesting side-kick. Their unlikely friendship makes for entertaining reading.

Also reviewed at Books at Midnight

(disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher)

Voices of Dragons, by Carrie Vaughn

Voices of Dragons, by Carrie Vaughn (HarperCollins, 2010, YA, 309 pages), is a rather unusual fantasy, in that it combines contemporary YA-ness--the heroine's best girl friend who is putting the pressure on her to grow up, the developing relationship with the cute boy-- with Dragons. And the result is a rather fun, rather interesting, and more than somewhat memorable story.

The dragons had reappeared in the world just after WW II, setting fire to a couple of towns up in Alaska. War raged between dragons and humans, until at last a truce was established. A large chunk of Canada, some of northern Asia, and a bit of the American Rockies was carved out to be Dragon Territory, and no human was allowed past the border. Kay lives right up against the frontier, and has taken the law seriously all her life; after all, her mom works in border enforcement, and her dad's the sheriff. And Kay didn't mean to cross the line, that day she went rock climbing on the edge of dragon territory...

But when Kay falls into a deep, fast-flowing stream, she is rescued by a dragon. The first she has ever really seen, and the first dragon anyone has talked to for decades. Artegal is young and curious, just like Kay, and they agree to keep meeting secretly, to learn about each other. And they become friends.

There are those in the military, however, who are uncomfortable with potentially dangerous enemies controlling a large swath of former US territory. While Kay and Artegal are peacefully exploring dragon/human history, war is being planned. US planes, designed to mimic the superior maneuverability of dragon flying, have invaded dragon airspace. And the dragons are retaliating, setting Kay's town alight. Kay and Aregal realize that their friendship might be the only way to bring peace back...if they are willing to follow the clues in an ancient book of dragon lore and risk being seen as traitors to their own people.

And as this all is building up, Kay's worried about what to wear to the school dance, her best (boy) friend, Jon, is become more than a friend, and Kay's anxious and uncertain about that (although happy, too), and her best (girl) friend, Tam, is pushing her to go further and faster....

The alternate history is intriguing, with enough detail given about how things ended up this way to be satisfying, while allowing for unexplored mysteries to remain (it's a bit odd, for instance, that all human/dragon communication was cut off so aburptly). This is the first of a series, and although it ends at a good point (in a "the first chapter is over" type way), it also is clear that Kay and Artegal are about to plunge into a new adventure. Will Kay and Jon ever get a chance to actually go as far as Tam thinks they should??? Is peace possible??? And just who are these dragons, anyway???

Voices of Dragons might well appeal to steampunk fans, with its playful alternate history; it has definite appeal for dragon fans; and, in addition, has enough sort of chick-lit YA to it to (perhaps) reach even those who like their YA romances sans fantasy. It doesn't have tremendous depth of character, nor did it evoke tremendously strong feelings for me, but it was a fast, entertaining, read.

(note on age-appropriateness: it's very YA in the (minor) subplot about having sex (or not), but although there's chatter, nothing actually happens).

Here are some other reviews, at Fantasy Magazine, Steph Su Reads, and Book Crazy. And the first chapter's up at Carrie Vaughn's website, if you want to check it out for yourself....

Dragons of Darkness, by Antonia Michaelis

Dragons of Darkness, by Antonia Michaelis (Amulet Books, 2010 US, 2006 Germany, YA, 545 pages).

Tiger Moon, shortlisted for the Cybils last fall, was the first book of Michaelis' I'd read. I fell in love with her dream-like story telling, in which magic and the mundane mixed in a fantastic Indian adventure. So Dragons of Darkness, a magical journey into the mountains of Nepal, was an obvious book to look for this year.

In Nepal, a 14 year old boy named Jumar, the invisible son of the king, leaves the palace where he has been a virtual prisoner all his life to seek revenge on the Maoist insurgents he believes have killed a faithful servant.

In Germany, a 14 year old boy named Christopher grieves for his brother Arne, kidnapped by the Maoists and held hostage somewhere in Nepal. A library book, full of pictures of the place, lets him feel closer to his brother...and he falls into the pages, and is there. Not only is he in Nepal, he has fallen on top of Jumar...

Christopher's grandmother, whom he strongly resembles, was Nepalese--he can pass for a local. And the magic that transported him has given him the language too. So the two boys (one of whom is invisible), set out toward the mountains. There they see the havoc wrought by the color dragons, who steal all that is good and beautiful wherever their shadows pass. The grey rice in the fields has no sustenance, and worse still, any person touched by a dragon's shadow becomes a bronze statue.

The suffering of the mountain people is exacerbated by the war between the Maoists and the Royalists. And it is this war, full of complex injustices, in which the two boys are about to become entangled. The rebel cause becomes real in the person of Nayu, a girl their age who is recruiting for the Maoists. She is brave, she is beautiful, and both boys fall hard for her...

And their loyalties and their missions become a confusion in their minds. To save Arne, to end the pain caused by the color dragons, to become visible, and to bring peace to Nepal, Jumar, Nayu and Christopher must journey bravely through mountains where death--in the beauty of a dragon's wing, in the muzzle of a gun, in the land itself-- could lie around every corner. And it would be a lot easier if they were sure what they were looking for...

Both a quest story and a coming of age story, Michaelis has created a rich and complex world in her magical Nepal. It is both modern, in its fictionalized evocation of the actual people and politics of the place, and fairy-tale like, with its enchantments and dragons, and the sense of old stories being re-lived. Her characterization is vivid, and the tangled relationship between the three young teenagers is fascinating and convincing. Friendship and loyalty are complicated things...and Michaelis captures this well.

But, sadly for me, I found the adventures of the heroes' journey becoming a little tedious after a while--I felt that I grasped the "danger lurks around every corner" and "people are suffering" and "no cause is totally just" themes sooner than the author believed I had--at 545 pages, it's a long book, and didn't necessarily need to be quite so long. So although I enjoyed it, I didn't fall hard for it, the way I did with Tiger Moon.

Fans of Finnikin of the Rock, by Melina Marchetta, might like this one--it is similar in feel, with its violent, unremitting journey (although fewer violent things happen to the characters in this book, and it is closer to a fairy tale than an epic, with more moments of beauty and wonder).

Note on age appropriateness: Two of the main characters turn to each other for comfort, and end up having sex. There's violence, and one scene in particular that is rather horrible and sad.

Here's another review at Wands and Worlds, which (among other things) discusses the mix of real world politics and fantasy in the book.

Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs, by Ursula Vernon

Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs (Dial Books/Penguin, lower middle grade on up, Feburary 4th, 2010, 205 pp) by Ursula Veron.

When I was up in Boston for the American Library Association meeting last week, this was one of the ARCS I was happiest to get, because I knew how very very happy it would make my children (they love Dragonbreath). And indeed, five minutes after I got home, my nine year-old had cracked the spine.

Attack of the Ninja Frogs brings back Danny Dragonbreath himself, still as imaginative and enthusiastic as any young dragon ever was. When Suki, a Japanese exchange student, is beset by Ninja Frogs, Danny and Wendell, his geeky iguana pal (who's fallen hard for Suki) travel with her to mythical Japan to find out what's going on. Danny thinks it's the greatest thing ever to be in the thick of real Ninja action, Wendell's worried about Suki, and as for Suki herself--she just wants to be a comic-book reading veterinarian, preferably a veterinarian who isn't being stalked by Ninjas...

The story is great fun, and the smart, snappy dialogue made me grin for a good part of the book. But what I loved most of all is the range of expressions that Vernon gives to her little reptiles and amphibians. My son (who's trying his hand at cartooning) and I poured over all the panels that showed Danny, marvelling at how a few subtle changes from picture to picture can bring about such great characterization.

Both Dragonbreath books are absolutely, utterly perfect for the kid who is still daunted by long chapter books. Word heavy pages (with large type) are interspersed with graphic heavy comic-style panels, making the books very friendly to the uncertain reader.

Here's another review, from fellow Dragonbreath fan Doret at TheHappyNappyBookseller.

Fire, by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson

Fire, by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson (Putnam, 2009, 297 pp, YA, but with a great middle-grade appropriate story) is the second volume of Tales of Elemental Spirits from these two very talented writers. The first, Water, first came out back in 2002; Fire took so long to finish because McKinley's stories kept getting away from her. Dragonhaven (2007), and Chalice (2008) both started life as Fire stories, but demanded their own books.

And of the five stories that are collected in Fire, the two that McKinley wrote ("Hellhound" and "First Flight" are much closer to novellas than to stories--you can almost feel the later, in particular, wanting to become a book). I am not complaining; too often short stories are too short, and leave me wanting more. But these two are just right. In "Hellhound," a girl's prosaic life as an assistant stable master and riding instructor becomes much more interesting when she adopts a strange (but sweet) dog with glowing red eyes...and finds herself having to confront a malevolent spirit that threatens to take her brother's life.

Her second contribution, "First Flight," is quite simply one of the best boy meets dragon (and grows up in the process) stories I've read in ages (this was the longest story in the book, at 116 pages). It's a gem of plot and character and world building, and would be a great story to give to a middle-grade fantasy loving kid, even though it's here in a "young adult" anthology. It tells of Ern, the runty third brother who's full of self-doubt--the oldest son is on his way to being a successful Dragon Rider, the middle brother is on his way to being a successful spiritseeker. All clumsy young Ern has done is to save the life of a creature who is the butt of jokes in song and story--a foogit pup named Sippy. But his life is about change when he (and Sippy) meet their first dragons...

Dickinson's contributions are equally gripping. He brings us a reimagined phoenix, tended by a gamekeeper in an English wood, a strangely horrible fireworm, terrorizing an ice-age people, and a great story about a boy possessed by salamanders.

In short, I liked the book lots and lots, and recommend it highly! But I'm not holding my breath for Air--McKinley is having her same troubles with runaway plots, and is in the throes of the second book in a series about pegasi (plural of pegasus) that began as a simple short story for that volume.

Other reviews/thoughts at Working Title, Kiss the Book, and Sonderbooks.

The Children's Book Dragons of 2009

2009 was an excellent year for dragons in children's books!

For younger readers, the dragon highlight of the year was Dragonbreath, by Ursula Vernon. Part graphic book, part straight easy-reader narrative, it's the delightful story of a young dragon child and his underwater adventure (my review).

I've heard good things about the Dragons of Wayward Crescent, an easy reader series, the latest book of which Gruffen, by Chris D'lacey, came out this year. This is high on my list of books to be offered to my younger son.

Moving on to middle grade--
There are two books this year that features princesses nicknamed Meg and their young dragon friends, and I liked both lots-- The Runaway Dragon, by Kate Coombs (my review) and The Dragon of Trelian, by Michelle Knudsen. Both are lightly written (in a pleasantly diverting way). I slightly favor The Runaway Dragon, with its many nods toward fairy tale tropes and its more pronounced humor, but both are excellent books to put into the hands of a young fantasy lover. Particularly if her name is Meg.The Dragons of Ordinary Farm, by Tad Williams and Deborah Beale. A brother and a sister are sent off to spend the summer at their great uncle's farm. They are amazed when they find the farm is anything but ordinary--it is home to all manner of mythical creatures, including dragons...the reader might be less amazed, but fans of Fablehaven should like this one.


And speaking of which, here's Brandon Mull talking about the new book in that series, Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary: "I think book 4 is my favorite so far. It might be because I’m a big fan of dragons. To me, they are the coolest, most iconic magical creature. We’ve only seen one dragon in the Fablehaven series so far, briefly, in book 3. Book 4 has lots of dragons, some fun twists and turns, and a bunch of great action." (From an interview at Cool Kids Read).

Dragon Spear, by Jessica Day George, is the third and final book of a series that began with the charming Dragon Slippers. This story takes places on an island far out to sea, where a strange and stunted tribe of dragons is hatching sinister plots. I enjoyed this one quite a bit--so often dragon books have just one Dragon, whereas this series allows them to be social beings, with interesting ramifications and opportunities for draconic characterization. It wraps up the series in a very satisfying way, and is a good read on its own account.

Timothy and the Dragon's Gate, by Adrienne Kress, is a completely different take on dragons. An extremely unlikeable boy, who overuses the word "whatever," finds himself the keeper of a dragon who has been forced to assume human form. Now Timothy has to get the dragon back to China...foiling various bad guys in the process. Fans of Kress' previous book, Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, will doubtless be delighted to meet Alex again when she shows up halfway through the book; those of us who haven't read that book might wonder just what is going on.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin, is a lovely book, beautifully written and illustrated, and although things Happen, they don't happen in a charging ahead action above all else way. On a quest to save her family from starvation, a young Chinese girl befriends a dragon who longs to be able to fly. But pitted against them is an evil and greedy enemy...(my review).


Kira (Shadow of the Dragon), by Kate O'Hearn, is a draconic adventure of the medievally type. A brave girl and her little sister find themselves fugitives, living in the shadow of a dragon's lair, after their farm is laid waste and their family imprisoned by henchmen of an evil king. But when the oldest sister forms a bond with a baby dragon, and the younger sister begins to develop her own gifts of magic, they might have a chance to save the kingdom. Although this is a fast-paced story about two smart and brave girls (always a good thing), I have a few reservations. The Bad King and his Bad henchman were a bit too bad--they laid the kingdom so very waste that it stretched the limits of my credulity. And I was disturbed by the violence at the end--the little sister, only 8 years old, turns into a ruthless killer, shooting guards right and left and urging the dragon on to kill them.

Spit Fyre, the dragon of Septiums Heap, made another, quite extensive, appearance in Syren, book five of that series, by Angie Sage. I am rather fond of Spit Fyre, especially his suspicion that Marica is his Dragon Mother.





A dragon book I have yet to read is City of Fire, by Laurence Yep, which features dragons and sounds most intriguing. And 2009 saw the release of the fourth book of Jane Yolen's Pit Dragon series--Dragon's Heart (also on my to-be-read list). Incidentally, this is the only Young Adult dragon book I know of--teenagers got zombies and fairies and vampires and lots of other miscellaneous un-alive people.

I'm sure there were lots of dragon picture books too--if anyone has any favorites, please share!

(note: I received review copies of the following books as a result of my participation in the Cybils Awards: Dragon Spear, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate, Where the Mountains Meet the Moon; I received a review copy of Shadow of the Dragon from its publisher, Kane Miller. I've tried to set up the Amazon links to benefit the Cybils, who will, if I did it right, receive any commissions earned).