Eye of the Oracle

Posted by Jordan
Categories: Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Incredibook!, Older Readers, Review, Science Fiction
Tags:Animals, Bryan Davis, Dragons, Long Read, Oracles of Fire, Sad, Scary
1 Comment »

Our rating:

In the days just before Noah’s Flood, Lilith and Naamah plot to join fallen angels in order to rule the world. But first they must get rid of the dragons, who are able to easily destroy the demons and their offspring, the Nephilim.

After the Flood, Morgan (Lilith) and Elaine (Naamah) are banished to the Circles of Seven (readers of Circles of Seven will recognize places), although they can come to the human dimension for short periods of time. Mara, one of Morgan’s slaves working to build an army of giants, is chosen by Elohim to become Sapphira Adi, an oracle of fire. For the next 400+ pages of Eye of the Oracle Sapphira performs mighty deeds with the help of many other people and dragons she meets along the way.

Alright, that was barely any of the story. In other words, this book is deep. Really deep, like a dizzying number of subplots and main plots all going on at once and culminating in an ending that leads very well into the next book, Enoch’s Ghost. And yet Bryan Davis manages to keep everything clear enough for you to understand everything. You should read Dragons in Our Midst before Eye of the Oracle, because the final chapter summarizes all of the events in Dragons in Our Midst, and the entire book gives backstory on many of the main characters from Dragons in Our Midst. I only had one small problem with the book. A few chapters at the end of the second part are repeats of the “history” bits of Dragons in Our Midst. Other than that, though, this one’s definitely a must read for any dragon lover, or anybody who likes a good action-packed story.

Follow My Leader

Posted by Becca
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, blindness, Dogs, guide dogs, James B. Garfield
Add a comment »

Our rating:

Young Jimmy Carter (not the president) is blinded in an accident involving a firework. He finds it hard to accept what has happened and doesn’t think he can do anything on his own again. Then he is admitted to a guide dog school and finds his confidence coming back under the influence of his teachers and the other students. Back home, Jimmy even runs his own newspaper stand. There is only one thing Jimmy finds extremely difficult: Forgiving Mike, the boy who caused the accident.

One of the things I like about Follow My Leader is that Jimmy is urged to give up his hatred for Mike by many people. He also has to convince his friends to do the same. The parts of the story at the guide dog school are interesting and provide a good look at how people are paired with a guide dog. I also like how Jimmy and his family have to give up the “Jimmy’s helpless because he’s blind” attitude for Jimmy to succeed.

Tears of a Dragon

Posted by Ruth
Categories: Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Incredibook!, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Animals, Bryan Davis, Dragons, Dragons in Our Midst, Funny, Long Read, Sad, Scary
1 Comment »

Our rating:

Our small group of heroes, recovering from the events of Circles of Seven, are about to be swept up in another whirlwind of adventures. The Watchers have gathered together, and the evil Morgan Le Faye is putting into action her plan for world domination. Guided by a prophecy of Merlin, Billy and Bonnie plunge into the realm of Dragon’s Rest, intent on finding and rescuing Billy’s father—along with many others. But Billy knows that the success of his crucial mission may come at great cost. And the friends they’ve left behind encounter increasing troubles of their own.

A truly amazing conclusion for the Dragons in our Midst series. I found very little fault with it the first time I read it, and some of the scenes are so beautifully done I was moved to near-tears. What with the complexity of the series, there were a lot of loose ends in the plot to be wrapped up, but Bryan Davis handled it very well indeed. The Dragons in our Midst books have both encouraged and challenged me, and I count them among my new-found favorites.

DragonLight

Posted by Jordan
Categories: Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Incredibook!, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Animals, Donita K. Paul, DragonKeeper, Dragons, Long Read
2 Comments »

Our rating:

Now that the dragon population is on the rise, Kale has a myriad of dragon-keeping duties that consume her time. Bardon whisks her away on a quest with meech dragons Regidor and Gilda, who are searching for a lost meech colony. However, there is a subtle evil infiltrating Amara. A group calling themselves Followers claims that to truly follow Wulder, one must follow a strict set of rules. Kale, Bardon, and their friends must discern the truth, find the lost meech colony, and battle an ancient evil.

Folks, this book is deep! I don’t think I even scratched the surface with my summary. Donita K. Paul wraps up her amazing DragonKeeper Chronicles with a satisfying and delightful finale, answering many questions raised in the first four books, and opening the way for a few more. Of course, wonderful truths run through the entire book, making it more than just a story. I was so happy to find that characters absent from DragonFire reappeared here. The only problem I have is that this is the end of one of my favorite series. That aside (and it’s not much of a complaint!), DragonLight is certainly not to be missed.

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

Posted by Sarah
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Dogs, Good Read Aloud, Margaret Sidney
Add a comment »

Our rating:

Ever since her husband died, Mrs. Pepper has been trying to earn enough money to pay for the rent of the little brown house and feed her five children: Ben, Polly, Joel, David, and Phronsie. But when they meet a boy named Jasper and his rich father, could it be that good times are in store for the Peppers?

This book is like a good old friend to me. It’s fun to see how little Phronsie and Jasper’s father get along together.