- Paperback: 560 pages
- Publisher: Chicken House Ltd (Jun 4 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 190444248X
- ISBN-13: 978-1904442486
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 3.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 386 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #280,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6–Young Firedrake is the only dragon to heed a warning from his colony's senior resident: return to the hidden city at the Rim of Heaven, or suffer imminent discovery and destruction by humans. Accompanied by a feisty Scottish brownie, an orphaned boy who becomes his dragon rider, and a large group of other supporters, Firedrake fulfills an ancient prophecy and safely returns to his ancestral home. Occasional black-and-white illustrations show many of the book's more exotic characters, a plus for young readers who may not know the folklore from which the creatures are drawn. The omniscient point of view follows each member of this ensemble at length, providing the tale with humor and action but also preventing the main characters from fully developing. The company survives encounters with a basilisk, a djinni, a roc, and a sea serpent, as well as an ongoing threat from Nettlebrand, a malevolent being intent on destroying them. Although each of these confrontations is interesting, the sheer number of episodes, the lack of strong central characters, and Nettlebrand's blustering inability to actually hurt anyone make for a story with much less dramatic tension than Funke's outstanding novels, The Thief Lord (2002) and Inkheart (2003, both Scholastic). A well-known author will assure the book's popularity, but the overlong plot is forgettable.–Beth Wright, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, VT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 4-6, younger for reading aloud. Here's news to quicken the pulses of Funke's many admirers: the fantasist's first novel, and her most popular so far in her native Germany, is now available to American readers. Crack open the fat volume, though, and it's instantly clear that this is different from Funke's previous books. With its large type, generous leading, and whimsical line art by the author, it simply looks more like a traditional middle-grade novel. The plot is correspondingly gentler, lighter, and more straightforward than those of The Thief Lord (2002) and inkheart (2003), involving an ancient race of fabulous creatures under threat from a wily, vengeful foe. Funke proves she knows how to tickle the imaginations of younger readers: there's a silver dragon that absorbs moonlight as flight fuel, an orphan boy destined to become a Dragon Rider, a journey to the Himalayas, and plenty of humor, introduced in particular by the dragon's irritable brownie sidekick and by Twigleg, a homunculus prone to bowing and scraping. [...] This is a good, old-fashioned ensemble-cast quest in the style of Lloyd Alexander, with a bit of Puff the Magic Dragon added to the mix. What could it be but a winner? Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
All was still in the valley of the dragons. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
All was still in the valley of the dragons. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of mine favorites,
By
This review is from: Dragon Rider (Hardcover)
This book has all the ingredients of a children's classic: interesting characters, exotic setting, and action. From the very first words, I was taken away.... The story is about a boy named Ben, a dragon named Firedrake, a brownie (an animal) named Sorrel, and a homunculus (little person) named Twigleg. They go of in serch of a place called the Rim of Heaven... But, is the Rim of Heaven real, or a fable? -- To find out you have to read it yourself, but I assure you it will not be time wasted. Another great book that I suggest everyone to check out is "Why Some Cats are Rascals". Actually I think there are three books in the series. I read only two - both were great
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Book Ever,
By L Li Bean (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dragon Rider (Audio Cassette)
I really liked this book. I liked it even more than Harry Potter,if you can believe that. This is a great story for people age 8 through adult, because you can read it again and again and not get tired of it. Basically the story is about a dragon out to find the last place safe from humans, with his brownie friend, and a boynamed Ben. On the way, the encounter an enormous flightless dragon out to kill all the other dragons in the world.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dragons Live,
This review is from: Dragon Rider (Hardcover)
This amazing story starts in a place where many dragons and other fabulous creatures live. When the dragons and other creatures find out about a plot the humans have to take over the place where they live, Slatebeard the eldest dragon tells the others they have to find the Rim of Heaven. The Rim of Heaven is a place where dragons can live in peace and harmony together away safely. All have heard tales about the Rim of Heaven but no one realy believed it existed. Only one other dragon believed it, Firedrake, a young eager dragon willing to go on a long dangerous journey. Along with a bad-tempered, but nice brownie, Sorrel, he flies off to reach for the Rim of Heaven. Will they make it to the Rim of Heaven?
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