The Boy Who Sang with Dragons (The Boy Who Grew Dragons 5)

By Author / Illustrator

Andy Shepherd, Sara Ogilvie

Genre

Magical Realism

Age range(s)

Publisher

Templar Publishing

ISBN

9781848129429

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

07-01-2021

Synopsis

Tomas is a fully-fledged expert dragon grower and protector of the dragonfruit tree. He has eyes in the back of his head for watching over those sneaky dragons, awesomely fast reflexes for putting out sparks and dodging the diving antics of whirling newly hatched dragons. He's got it all down pat - and managing his little lightning bolt dragon Zing, too. But he's not quite prepared for the adventure that awaits him when a huge secret is revealed about his new friend, Aura. A thrilling secret that will take Tomas and Aura on a journey of discovery that will finally unlock the last mysteries of the dragonfruit tree. A journey of discovery that all the dragons will be in on - and just what will happen when lightning bolt dragon Zing and storm dragon Flicker get together? Get ready for the ride of your life in this fizzing, sparkling final story in THE BOY WHO GREW DRAGONS series.

Download Extract

Reviews

This is the fifth and final book in this delightful, charming series that simply bursts with joyful, colourful adventure. Since discovering the dragon-fruit tree in his Grandad's garden really DID grow dragons, Tomas and his superhero squad friends have had their very own magical, wondrous winged best friends in the form of beautiful, talented (and often very mischievous) real life dragons.

Over time, Tomas has honed his dragon-whispering skills and knowledge. He can dodge exploding dragon poo; cope with a dragon's very particular dietary and energy needs; has developed ultra alert hearing (tuned into any signs of sizzling, crashing and general chaos), and can create convincing cover stories for any possible parental questions about the odd smell of burning in his bedroom!

Now, in a final adventure, Tomas seems about to learn the whole truth about how the dragon-fruit trees that first hatched baby dragons were discovered and, now more importantly, how to keep the trees alive and able to continue creating more and more of these utterly amazing creatures.

I am a huge fan of this warm hearted series of books and loved the chance to re connect with Tomas, his original, beloved storm dragon Flicker and the tiny (chaos-causing) lightning dragon Zing. The book explodes with rippling, vivid colour and a sense of the adventure to come even before the very first chapter begins.

Newer member of the superhero squad, Aura, brings with her the next part of the story - as Tomas discovers all about her family history and the real reasons she matches his own dragon expertise. There is a gently emotional storyline as Tomas and Aura's friendship grows but is tested along the way - is Grandad's garden big enough for TWO dragon masters to work together? Grandad, of course, is a constant source of wisdom and toffees and is such a familiar character to the reader to enjoy again in this final book.

The fantastic black and white illustrations by Sara Ogilvie and the bold, beautiful front cover again bring the characters to life and capture the delights of the story. The Boy Who Sang With Dragons is a joyful, engaging and imaginative story. It is with some sadness the reader will say a final goodbye to these dazzling dragons and the fun (and flames) they brought !

272 pages / Ages 6+ / Reviewed by Jenny Caddick, teacher