Book Reviews and More: The Land of the Spring Dragon - Tracey West and Matt Loveridge

Wednesday, 9 December 2020

The Land of the Spring Dragon - Tracey West and Matt Loveridge - Dragon Masters Book 14

The Land of the Spring Dragon

Dragon Masters Book 14
Tracey West (Author)
Matt Loveridge (Illustrator)

Scholastic
ISBN 9781338263749

eISBN 9781338263763

ASIN B07M88TQ7H

Between reading with my kids and my nephews I have now read a Dragon Masters book 22 times. And currently there is no sign of it slowing down. As a family we really love these books! A few years ago, I read the first eight books of this series to my son. Then his interest was drawn away. My youngest daughter really enjoyed them and the three of us read them, she listened to her brother or I read. This year my youngest has been reading them to me. She gets a little frustrated that I have not read ahead now, because it often means she reads an extra chapter or two because I cannot tell her what is about to happen. Confirm or refute her guess. This year we found out that my nephew has been reading them and that he was only 1 book ahead of us. He is reading the physical books and we are reading the eBook editions. This is a great story in a wonderful series. It is one of my favorites. My youngest daughter is insistent that we will read the whole series. And she has spent her reading challenge money buying all the kindle editions that are available. Including Griffin’s Guide for Dragon Masters.

I have said it before, and I will state it again, ‘this series really has staying power’. I have read some of the stories 4 or 5 times now. And have been reading them for over 4 years. And I still enjoy the stories as do my children. My son who thought he had outgrown these stories has been sitting in and listening to his sister read them to me again lately. It is also great to know that my brother’s family loves them as much as ours. It is fascinating to watch the kids interact and compare notes about the books that they are both reading. And to predict what will happen next based on the endings of the book, or title of the next as we queue it up.

One of the best things about this series is that it is a true series. In that each story builds upon the next. The stories are strong enough to be read on their own, but as a whole we get to watch the growth of the group as they come together as a team and learn to work together and support each other. We see some characters come in and out of the stories. At the end there is usually a hint, or a hook for the next story. In this one we meet new dragon master named Breen and her dragon Fallyn. Drake and worm travel to Inis Banba to try and meet this dragon to ask for help healing Braken from the earthquake damage. But once they are there, Drake must go on a quest by himself to the land of the fairies. And there he encounters many magical creatures and several tests. He encounters Red Cap fairies who look like garden gnomes. Hinky Pink a trickster. And a pooka. He must solve a riddle from the forest fairies. And even an ogre. But to find out if Drake is successful and elicits the help of the spring dragon you will need to read the book.

This is the first volume illustrated by Matt Loveridge. I believe he also illustrated two more volumes and the Special edition, Griffin’s Guide for Dragon Masters. I believe Matt is the sixth illustrator so far for the series. The illustrations keep a consistent feel and look. But each artist leaves their own mark on the books they work on. Some illustrations stand alone and some wrap around the text and span two-page spreads. And my daughter absolutely loved the cover of this one. My daughter absolutely loved the drawings of the spring dragon. Especially one from above as the dragon was in flight.

This is another great read in a wonderful series. These are fun books for readers both young and young at heart. They can be enjoyed over and over again. I am continually impressed with the staying power of this series. After multiple reads over several years I still really enjoy returning to the Dragon Masters. And look forward too many more reads in this series, as my daughter is insistent, she will read them all to me! And she wavered on a rating for this one but ended up giving it 5/5 stars! At first she debated 4 because it was scarier than many of the others. But the beauty of the spring dragon brough the stars back up to 5. A great read in a great series!