Sunday 8 March 2015

The Dragon Tamers: book review

The Dragon Tamers

Book review by Trevor Agnew


The Dragon Tamers (2013) James Russell, ill. Link Choi, Dragon Brothers Books, 

hardback, 32 pages ISBN 978 0 473 24975 5

 
The Dragon Tamers is the second volume in the Dragon Brothers series, and again follows the adventures of brothers Flynn and Paddy and their dog Coco, in a story told in rhyming couplets. Climbing up into the ‘forbidden’ attic of their home in the Ancient Forest, the two boys find a dusty map with intriguing place-names like Ridge of Rising Flame and Dragon’s Lair.  (This map also forms the endpapers of each book in the trilogy.)  The pair set out in search of the Dragon Hatchery.

I cannot see a single egg, nor dragon in the sky,” says Paddy resting on a rock. A sudden unexpected event (which will amuse young readers) causes a mass hatching of dragon eggs. Pursued by young dragons, the two boys flee back down the hill. They hide behind a rock but as Link Choi’s beautiful colour illustrations show there is also a dragon sheltering there with them.

Having dodged the thundering horde, Flynn was feeling bolder,
Until he felt a scaly claw fall gently on his shoulder.”

True to storybook tradition, the young dragon bonds with the boys, and they smuggle it back into their bedroom. The final picture shows its tail projecting from under the blankets while the boys feed it scraps from their evening meal. Hanging on the wall above their bed is a framed dragon tooth, a reminder of their battle with the adult dragon in The Dragon Tamers (2012). The saga will continue in the final volume.
 

The website is at www.dragonbrothersbooks.com

 
Trevor Agnew 

15 Oct 2013  

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