Tag Archives: Dragons

YA – Chaos & Flame

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Gratton, Tessa, and Justina Ireland. Chaos & Flame. Razorbill, 2023. 978-0-593-35332-5. $19.99. 336 p. Grades 9-12.

Darling Seabreak is a member of House Kraken, but it wasn’t always that way. Once, Darling was a part of House Sphynx until it was destroyed by House Dragon along with her family and the rest of her people. Darling is determined to take her revenge on House Dragon, and when her adoptive father is kidnapped, she vows to do what she must to save him. During her rescue mission, she’s captured by Talon Goldhoard, the War Prince of House Dragon and brother to Caspian, the high Prince Regent. When Caspian reveals Darling’s history to the world, he plans to restore House Sphynx to its former glory. Darling plays along, and in return, Capian has promised not to harm her father. As she is pulled into Caspian’s games and plots while visiting  the other houses, Talon is as well, and although they are enemies, they cannot deny the attraction that exists between them. In the end, Darling must decide where her loyalties truly lie and if allying with Caspian will save their world, or destroy it.

THOUGHTS: I would describe Choas & Flame as a YA Game of Thrones, and it’s a perfect recommendation for readers asking for the aforementioned series that may not be a part of a high school collection. Alternating point of views among diverse characters add to the mysteriousness of the morally gray Prince Caspian, and his unpredictable actions and prophecies will keep readers guessing. This enemies to lovers fantasy will also keep readers hooked and the dramatic ending will leave them wanting more.

Fantasy

Elem. – Spreckle’s Snack Surprise

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Salisbury, Sandra. Spreckle’s Snack Surprise. Illustrated by Sandra Salsbury. Peachtree Books, 2023. 978-1-682-63482-0. Unpaged. $18.99. Grades PreK-2.

Spreckle’s lives on a farm with her fluffy mama, brothers, sisters, and a cozy bed which sounds nice, but it isn’t. The snacks are not good; the choices are slugs or corn. One day Spreckle’s decides to go find the perfect snack and she finds it… a popsicle! However, eating the popsicle turns out to be not so easy, so she has to keep trying. Eventually she decides that  she doesn’t need snacks which is awful because snacks are amazing. All Spreckles needs are her brothers, sisters, fluffy mama, and cozy bed, until she sneezes fire onto the corn and turns it into the most perfect snack ever.

THOUGHTS: This is such a sweet picture book! The reader will love looking at the detail found within the simplistic illustrations. Must have for any elementary school library collection.

Picture Book

Elem. – The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination

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Montague, Brad. The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination. Illustrated by Brad and Kristi Montague. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2023. 978-0-593-32347-2. Unpaged. $18.99. Grades PreK-3.

The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination introduces us to special agents called figments who help to maintain the world’s creativity. There are many different types of figments, such as invisible figments, rock figments, even merfigments! They all have a special job at the Bureau, but none of them are as special as Sparky. He is in charge of the mail and every letter, card, or package gets sorted through his office. However, Sparky has a secret… he writes poetry. One day as he is going to his office to start his job, he notices that the Cave of Untold Stories is starting to collapse. Even though Sparky is terrified of Brenda with her scales and teeth, he zooms down to help her and save the Cave. Will Sparky be able to save the cave? Will he convince people not to keep their songs, poems, and stories to themselves?

THOUGHTS: This is a beautifully charming picture book about imagination, not being afraid, and embracing who you are. The illustrations are charming and add to the overall feel of the story. The reader will want to come back several times just to look at all the little details that they may have missed on their first read. This would be a great book for a creative writing prompt, or even an art class (as the front of the Bureau is top secret and no one knows what it looks like). Highly recommend this book for either a fun read aloud or the beginning of a fun lesson.

Picture Book

Elem. – Long Goes to Dragon School

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Wu, Helen H. Long Goes to Dragon School. Illustrated by Mae Besom. Yeehoo Press, 2023. Unpaged. $18.99. Grades K-3.

As the title implies, Long is a dragon-in-training that attends a school with dragons from all over the world. An interesting map on the endpapers shows each dragon’s location. Unlike the other dragons, however, the Long’s type of dragon does not breathe fire, but water. In back matter, the author explains that Chinese dragons are more like water sprites. Professor McKay leads the class in breathing fire exercises and encourages them to practice. The goal is to have a wonderful picnic with foods the little dragons have roasted. Of course, Long tries in vain to follow his teacher’s directions. The illustrations and text show Long practicing and failing, then trying again. Long listens to Professor McKay’s advice to “find your own path” and to pursue one’s “unique talents.” The story ends on a positive note as Long discovers at the promised picnic that it can boil the water to steam the food. The pastel watercolor washes enhance this simple, modern-day fable. Teachers can use this picture book to encourage resilience, show differences, and point out each one’s special talents.

THOUGHTS: This picture book can be used as a mentor text to introduce differences or highlight the importance of practicing a skill. At first, I thought struggling readers could use this book independently because it included some rhyming and onomatopoeia, but the words became more difficult as the story progressed. At its core, it is a fable only. The illustrations are pretty but fuzzy and there are tiny little dragon comments above the characters’ heads, making it hard for students to see in a read aloud setting. The comparison of different kinds of dragons around the world is interesting and noteworthy. If you are looking for a book that shows young students everyone has their own special talent if they only try hard enough to look, Long Goes to Dragon School, may be a good choice for your school collection.

Picture Book
Fantasy

Elem. – Knight Owl

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Denise, Christopher. Knight Owl. Christy Ottaviano Books. 978-0-316-31062-8. 44 p. $17.99. Grades K-3. 

Owl is smart, brave, and resourceful, and he dreams of putting these traits to the test by becoming a knight. When knights start disappearing from the castle, Owl applies to knight school, and to everyone’s surprise, is accepted. After graduating, he’s assigned to the Knight Night Watch. Each evening, he patrols the castle wall, and unlike his companions, never falls asleep once. One night, a large dragon lands on the castle wall and threatens to eat Owl. With some quick thinking, Owl suggests the dragon try some pizza instead. The pair munch on slices and bond over their shared experiences of hatching from eggs, love of the nighttime, and soaring through open skies. Owl’s bravery and cleverness lead to a surprising new friendship as he proves that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. This title’s digitally created illustrations feature nighttime shades of blue, yellow, and brown, and Owl’s vivid facial expressions and large eyes feature prominently on many pages. 

THOUGHTS: Themes of perseverance and working toward your dreams take center stage in this book, as does the idea of brains trumping brawn. Owl also demonstrates the true traits of a hero: quick wits, a sense of humor, and a big heart. This title will be popular with readers clamoring for titles featuring dragons, knights, and life during medieval times. 

Picture Book          Anne Bozievich, Southern York County SD

YA – Together We Burn

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Ibanez, Isabel. Together We Burn. Wednesday Books, 2022. 978-1-250-87031-5. 354 p. $18.99. Grades 12+.

Together We Burn follows 18-year-old Zarela whose family is famous for their flamenco dancing and Dragonador in Hispalia. When the story opens, the reader learns how Zarela’s mother died in an unfortunate accident and how she and her father have coped with that loss. During the 500th anniversary performance, though, disaster strikes again and Zarela has to try to pick up the pieces of this life that her family has built by becoming the next Dragonador. However, Zarela has no clue what she is doing, so she needs to find someone to train her. Enter Arturo who wants nothing to do with helping her, but Zarela refuses to take no for an answer. Will she be able to recover her family’s rightful place in the Dragon Guild or will everything just go up in flames?

THOUGHTS: This is a more unique young adult fantasy novel with the dragon and Dragonador element. There are some more graphic scenes throughout, so this book is not for a sensitive reader. There also are some spicy romantic scenes, so this book would fit best for upper high school.  

Fantasy            Mary McEndree, Lehigh Valley Regional Charter Academy

MG – The Lost Ryu

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Cohen, Emi Watanabe. The Lost Ryu. Levine Querido, 2022. 978-1-646-14132-6. 200 p. $17.99. Grades 5-8.

This book explores an alternate history full of magical realism where dragons or “ryu” are real; some big ryu even helped Japan fight in WWII, but now most big dragons have disappeared. Even though they both care for small family dragons as pets and companions, Kohei and his new friend Isolde want to try to find a “big” dragon and bring back the majestic creatures who were lost after the war. Kohei is also trying to discover more about the father who passed away when he was three and reconnect with his mother and grandfather, who both seem stuck in the past. Will Kohei and Isodle ever discover where the big ryu have gone, and will that discovery help to heal all the terrible scars the war has left on the world?

THOUGHTS: Students who like historical fiction and fantasy will like this imaginative take on friendship, family, and Japanese dragon mythology. Kohei is Japanese, Isolde is Japanese-Jewish, and the story uses their mutual love of dragons to help them deal with the complicated history of Japan, World War II, and the Holocaust. The relationships in this book also show the struggles of children who cope with the trauma suffered by their parents and contain hopeful messages about learning how to move forward after tragedies have happened within a family.

Historical Fiction          Erin Faulkner, Cumberland Valley SD

MG – The Ogress and the Orphans

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Barnhill, Kelly. The Ogress and the Orphans. Algonquin Young Readers, 2022. 978-1-64375-074-3. $19.99. 392 pages. Grades 4-8.

Once there was an Ogress. In her long life she had many adventures, and lived in many places, always searching for a community in which to belong. The Ogress hears of a town called Stone-in-the-Glen that used to be quite lovely and that has fallen on hard times. The Ogress has experienced grief and disconnection and believes she can help the people of the town. She creates a home for herself on the outskirts of Stone-in-the-Glen, and anonymously sets out to perform random acts of kindness for the people of the town. Stone-in-the Glen was once regarded as a friendly and kind place where people took good care of each other. The citizens adored their dragon-slaying Mayor who was charming and protective. When the town library burns to the ground, the town itself begins to unravel. More community institutions are destroyed, crops fail, and slowly the people of Stone-in-the-Glen stop taking care of their neighbors. In fact, hard times make the citizens distrustful of each other. An orphanage on the edge of Stone-in-the-Glen houses 15 orphans, cared for by an elderly couple. The 15 young children are plucky and smart, and love each other dearly. They enjoy helping and learning, but most of all they care for each other and consider each other family. When one of the children goes missing, the Mayor gleefully prods the citizens of Stone-in-the-Glen to turn on the Ogress. It is up to the orphans to save each other, their home, the Ogress, and ultimately their community.

THOUGHTS: A stunning allegory with many themes to explore. What is a neighbor? What makes a community a community? How do we live with people and ideas that are different from our own experiences and beliefs? Kindness ultimately wins the day. Strong themes of the power of libraries and reading throughout this beautiful and well-told story.

Fantasy          Anne McKernan, Council Rock SD

Elem. – Return of the Underwear Dragon

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Rothman, Scott. Return of the Underwear Dragon. Random House Studio, 2021. 978-0-593-11992-1. Unpaged. $17.99. Grades K-2.

In this sequel to Attack of the Underwear Dragon (2020), Sir Cole has determined that the Underwear Dragon only tried to destroy the kingdom because he was unable to read the signs instructing him not to. Therefore, Sir Cole makes it his mission to teach the Underwear Dragon how to read. It is a difficult process, and both parties get so frustrated they want to give up. However, that’s when Claire comes along with her fire extinguisher, which she uses to put out the dragon’s flames of frustration. Sir Cole selects another book that the Underwear Dragon finds more interesting, and together, the trio continues to work towards its goal. Portraying the value of both literacy and perseverance, this humorous book definitely will resonate with young kids who are just learning to read.

THOUGHTS: Although this was not necessarily my favorite book this year, I did appreciate the humor and subtle messages portrayed by the story. Give this book to fans of Attack of the Underwear Dragon (2020) and/or students just learning to read. 

Picture Book          Julie Ritter, PSLA Member

YA – Fire with Fire

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Soria, Destiny. Fire with Fire. Clarion Books, 2021. 978-0-358-32973-2. $17.99. 432 p. Grades 7-12.

Dani and Eden are sisters, and they have a secret: they come from a long line of dragon hunters and have trained to become slayers since they were young girls. Dani doesn’t take her duties as a slayer as seriously as Eden, but when she comes across a dragon and they become soul bonded, everything Dani thought she knew about her family’s legacy changes in an instant. Although Dani has a change of heart, Eden does not, and instead becomes mixed up with the sorcerers who use magic from dragons to fuel their own powers. Suddenly, the sisters are enemies, and each is trying to save the other from what they believe is a deadly situation, not realizing there is a more dangerous enemy threatening to destroy them both.

THOUGHTS: This is one of the first contemporary dragon fantasies that I’ve read, and I love that the book’s setting is rural Tennessee rather than a fictional land or kingdom. It’s a nice change from the many high fantasy dragon series, and I think readers will enjoy the relationship and sibling rivalry between Dani and Eden. Although they are dragon slayers, they are still sisters, and looking out for one another comes before all else. 

Fantasy          Emily Hoffman, Conestoga Valley SD