Nick Lake Books

Summer lives with her foster family and one day, a sinkhole opens up in their house. She finds a dragon in the sinkhole who is guarding some treasure, a bottle with a witch in it. The witch says she will grant Summer three wishes, but Summer soon learns it’s not a straightforward offer.Summer thinks that people don’t like her, including her foster parents.

‘The house with a dragon in it’ sensitively deals with the relationship between Summer and her foster family as well as the difficult relationship Summer has with other children at school. It shows that what we think other people think of us is not necessarily the reality and Summer learns to let people in.

There are brilliant illustrations from Emily Gravett throughout, including some double-page ones. I enjoyed the ‘granting wishes’ aspect of the story as Summer thought she knew what she wanted to wish for straight away and then this changed as her relationship with other characters developed.An enjoyable story with a lovely message about friendship and family, but also a great read for anyone who loves a bit of magic.