BooksforTopics Reading for Pleasure Recommendations
We are delighted to host an extract from the final instalment of Andy Shepherd’s popular dragon series. Read on for an exclusive look at the opening chapter, followed by our review of the book.
Book Title: The Boy Who Flew With Dragons (available here)
Author: Andy Shepherd
Illustrator: Sara Ogilvie
Publisher: Piccadilly Press
Publication Date: January 2019
Extract:
Review
If you are a regular follower of reviews on the Booksfortopics blog then you’ll know how fond we are of Andy Shepherd’s dragon series (you can read our previous reviews of The Boy Who Grew Dragons here and The Boy Who Lived With Dragons here). When book 3 arrived through my letterbox just before Christmas, I was absolutely delighted and couldn’t wait to see how the series would end.
Young Tomas is becoming an expert at concealing his pet dragon; from scorch marks to exploding poos, Tomas is quite skilled at hiding all signs of Flicker from his parents and the world at large.
But now Tomas is burdened with the pressing sense that his time with Flicker may soon come to end, and when Grandad is taken ill, Tomas is suddenly faced with two options:
a) Keep a special promise to Grandad that might just mean letting down his friends and letting go of his beloved pet
b) Unwisely ignore the promise to Grandad and live with the consequences (not to mention guilt).
Without giving away too many spoilers, it may come as no surprise that chaos ensues at Tomas navigates his way through the final adventure in this series.
The gang of friends are back and so is the very lovable little sister Lolli, who has her own slice of dragon-shaped action. Hearty humour is balanced with a good helping of tenderness as Tomas faces life lessons about the challenges of saying goodbye to loved ones. Like the first two books, the story is illustrated by Sara Ogilvie, whose charming pictures capture the tone of the narrative perfectly. Add to that an ancient map and a secret diary and you know that Andy Shepherd has once again created the recipe for a sparky adventure that readers in the 7-9 age bracket will absolutely love.
A super ending to a brilliant trio of stories full of warmth and wit, this is a really special series that deserves all the praise that comes its way.
—————–
Check out Andy Shepherd’s guest blog post about recommended dragon books or read our review of The Boy Who Grew Dragons here.
You can order The Boy Who Flew With Dragons online or from your local bookshop or library.
Many thanks to the publisher for sending us a review copy of this book and to Andy Shepherd for inviting us to host the exclusive extract.
