Book Reviews and More: Treasure of the Gold Dragon - Tracey West and Sara Foresti

Thursday, 3 December 2020

Treasure of the Gold Dragon - Tracey West and Sara Foresti - Dragon Masters Book 12

Treasure of the Gold Dragon

Dragon Masters Book 12
Tracey West (Author)
Sara Foresti (Illustrator)

Scholastic
ISBN 9781338263688

eISBN 9781338263701

ASIN B07CNDHG2R

As a family we really love these books! A few years ago, I read the first eight books of this series to my son. My youngest daughter really enjoyed it and the three of us read them. This year my youngest has been reading them to me. And this was the first book we had not read previously. This year we found out that my nephew has been reading them and was only 1 book ahead of us. He is reading the physical books and We are reading the eBook editions. It is a great story in a wonderful series. 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.

I have said it before, and I 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. And when we started this one she read 2 chapters beyond her daily required reading time.

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. And we see some characters come in and out of the stories. And in this one we meet a new dragon master and the golden dragon has a very special skill and power. And all of this while events of the previous stories are still not completely wrapped up. It is fantastic to have a series for readers this young that do not just reset at the beginning of the next book.

In this one the battle with Maldred heats up. This time Rori and Drake travel to the lair of the Golden dragon. And with the aid of Darma they try and take on the wizard. But the story does not wrap up and continues into the next volume. Be sure to have it on because you will want to begin it right away.

This is the first volume illustrated by Sara Foresti. And She is the fourth 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.

Another excellent read in a great series. These are excellent books for young readers, but also entertaining enough for older readers. 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 insisted we give it 5/5 stars! A great read in a great series!