Davide Ortu Books

The Dragon In The Library is a thoroughly enjoyable story that combines libraries, dragons, wizards and aliens with some very pertinent messages of friendship, inclusion and diversity. The story focuses on three friends (Kit, Josh & Alita) and their quest to stop evil businessman Mr Salt from expanding his property empire.

With a thoroughly engaging plot and a likeable and diverse set of characters, this book would sit perfectly in a lower KS2 classroom. The book contains a broad range of characters from a mix of ethnic backgrounds. With a short haired female protagonist who loves getting muddy, Stowell has shown readers that they can be whatever and whoever they want to be and provided a wonderful role model in Kit to highlight just this.

There is a heavy emphasis on the magic of books and the wonderful (and often crazy) places they can take you, an important message to portray to readers. With library closures aplenty across the UK, this book serves to highlight just what wonderful places they can be and adds a little intrigue into just what might be found if you pay them a visit!

A strong mention must go to Davide Ortu, illustrator of The Dragon In The Library. His wonderful illustrations are showered throughout the book and really bring the characters and settings to life.