Goodreads Synopsis:
"With lonely Ben aboard, brave dragon Firedrake seeks mythical place where silver dragons can live in peace. Over moonlit lands and sparkling seas, they meet fantastic creatures, summon up surprising courage - and cross a ruthless villain with an ancient grudge determined to end their quest. Only a secret destiny can save the dragons and bring them the true meaning of home."
4****
Hi Elementareaders!
'Dragon Rider' by Cornelia Funke is an epic tale of adventure, magic and friendship.
Firedrake is a Silver Dragon, living in a remote valley in the Scottish Highlands. There are a small cluster of dragons living there and they are unsure whether they are the last of their kind as the humans are slowly taking over the planet. Sorrel, a Forest Brownie (a kind of cat-like creature that walks on two legs) is out foraging for mushrooms when a rat brings news of the humans planning to take over their valley.
Upon hearing this news, Firedrake and Sorrel set out on an epic quest to find the 'Rim of Heaven', the mythical place where it is said all dragons came from and somewhere that they will be safe. Rat tells them to stop and see her cousin in the city, who can give them a map. Whilst in the city they meet Ben, a young homeless boy, who helps them find the rat and the map (showing the Rim to be somewhere in the Himalayas), and ends up embarking on this journey with the Dragon and the Brownie.
But the journey isn't going to be a safe one. When resting on a mountain they meet some dwarves, one of which runs off to his master, the giant and fearsome gold Dragon, Nettlebrand, who enjoys eating Silver Dragons like Firedrake. Nettlebrand sends out a spy to follow them in the hope that they will lead him to the Rim of Heaven and lots more tasty dragons. The gang go on many adventures and meet lots of new friends along the way, but can the defeat Nettlebrand before it is too late?
This was such a wonderful adventure story! The characters were great, although Sorrel did get on my nerves a bit sometimes, but her personality was so well written. I love that this book was set in our world rather than some far off fantasy land, and it was great to believe for a second that these magical beings; dragons, brownies, dwarves, basilisks & more, could be living in our world.
I adored the little illustrations at the tops of the chapters, and the few scattered in between. I think the pop-up replica of the map was also a really nice touch and it was great to look at the map whilst reading to get a better idea of their journey.
While the storyline was amazing, I do thing some of the writing was lacking in the area of descriptiveness. Although I suppose some of it make have been lost in the translation from German. The language is nice and simple for children to read and understand.
Overall I thought this was a really great adventure fantasy for both adults and children alike.
I would give this book 4 stars :)
Let me know in the comments if you've read ‘Dragon Rider’ and what you thought of it! And if you had a dragon, what would you name it?
Places to buy:
The Book Depository (free delivery worldwide!)
Follow Cornelia Funke on:
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