The Boy Who Grew Dragons
It sounds like a typical daydream that emerges from the over-active imagination of a 10 year old… but what if pint-sized vegetarian dragons really hatched out of dragon-fruits, harvested from its cacti tree?
What ensues is part gripping-adventure, part comedy of errors, as the protagonist tries to keep his pet-dragon-with-combustible-poop a secret.
There’s even a cameo mention of durian! (See page pictured below.)
The publisher’s synopsis:
When Tomas discovers a strange old tree at the bottom of his grandad’s garden, he doesn’t think much of it. But he takes the funny fruit from the tree back into the house – and gets the shock and delight of his life when a tiny dragon hatches! The tree is a dragon fruit tree, and Tomas has got his very own dragon, Flicker…
Tomas soon finds out that life with Flicker is great fun, but also very … unpredictable. Yes, dragons are wonderful, but they also set fire to your toothbrush and leave your pants hanging from the TV aerial.
Tomas has to learn how to look after Flicker – and quickly. And then something extraordinary happens – more dragon fruits appear on the tree. Tomas is officially growing dragons…
Piccadilly Press
What I also enjoyed were the scenes of family life, which are very relatable to the average middle grade / primary school aged kid. Andy Shepherd (who is a mother of 2 kids, surprise surprise) deftly portrays the ‘doing it all’ (if not the ‘having it all’) of a part-time working mum running a household and caring for an extremely messy 2 year old, whilst a work-preoccupied dad tries his best to help out.
A poignant sub-plot is also woven in, as Tomas feels the emotional tug and obligation to spend time with his grandfather, partly because he blames grandpa’s poor health on himself. Although everyone denies it, Tomas has the nagging feeling that it must be attributable to the exertions of caring for Tomas as a sickly child. These inner thoughts and latent guilt that a child tends to feel were well-expressed by Shepherd.
With such a great start, it’s definitely a boon to know that there’s Book 2 and Book 3 to look forward too! So… what’s in Book 2?
The Boy Who Lived With Dragons
The fun continues as Tomas and his 3 best friends have all acquired secret pet dragons, each with its own unique personality and dietary preference.
The publisher’s synopsis:
Having your own dragon is magical – but Tomas is also about to find out what living with a dragon is REALLY like. When the fire-breathing kicks in and you get singed every five seconds, it’s like having an unpredictable volcano in your pocket.
Learning to train the dragons and keep them out of trouble at school and home will take all Tomas’s creativity and patience… What is more, the dragon fruit tree is starting to look droopy and unwell. Tomas and his friends have got to do all they can restore it to health and uncover its deepest mysteries, as well as trying to work out what big secret local bully Liam, ‘King of Trouble’, has got up his sleeve…
Piccadilly Press
I liked the fact that there were some (but not too many) illustrations interspersed within the books, which certainly adds interest to the text.
And…. without giving away too much, here’s what you can expect in Book 3!
The Boy Who Flew With Dragons
Here’s the publisher’s synopsis:
Tomas can’t imagine life without his little dragon Flicker. He’s become more than a pet – he’s a friend like no other. And growing dragons on the dragon fruit tree in the garden with his friends Ted, Kat and Kai is the most amazing thing ever.
But Tomas has promised Grandad something – that he and his friends will let their dragons go back to where they belong. The only problem is – that isn’t such an easy thing to do. Not when they are still having so much fun with dragons Flicker, Sunny, Crystal and Dodger. Not when they still have to work out where the dragons’ home is, and how to get the dragons to leave. And not when Tomas is so close to uncovering the true story of the mysterious dragon fruit tree…
Piccadilly Press
GIVEAWAY TIME!
Book distributors Pansing are generously sponsoring a set of these two books, which will be delivered by normal mail to one reader of this blog!
To enter, simply complete the following:
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2. Leave a comment on this Facebook post on why you’d like to win this, with your email address (or PM your email address to me) and tag 2 friends who might be interested in this too. (You can also share the post if you’d like!)
The giveaway ends on 2359 hrs on 25 Feb 2019, and the winners will be contacted via email.
The usual terms and conditions apply.
[Congrats Alina Tan on being the winner of this giveaway!]
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