Friday 12 April 2024

Legend of the Star Dragon - Tracey West and Graham Howells - Dragon Masters Book 25

Legend of the Star Dragon
Dragon Masters Book 25
Tracey West (Author)
Graham Howells (Illustrator)
Scholastic
ISBN 9781338777000
eISBN 9781338777024
ASIN B0BNPHWM2Y

Legend of the Star Dragon - Tracey West and Graham Howells - Dragon Masters  Book 25

My daughter who is now 13 loves these books. It used to take her more than a week to read one. Now she devoured this one in less than 40 minutes. But she still insists we will read them all. She hated the cliff hanger ending. However because we were late getting around to reading this one she only has about a month to wait for the next volume to release. This book and series is wonderful for young readers. It is an early chapter book or Middle Grade read. The next book in the series is #25 Cave of the Crystal Dragon followed by #26 Haunting of the Ghost Dragon. There is also a second special edition denounced The Epic Guide to Dragon Masters, and my daughter is still insistent we will read them all.

This is another great read in wonderful series. These books are well below my youngest daughters reading level. But she loves them so much. She reads for 20 minutes 5 days most weeks and a book in this series use to take her 10-12 days to read. This one she read in just under 2 sittings, just a bit faster than the last one. I have said it before and I state it again, this series gets better and better. It has serious staying power.  

In this volume we have several surprises, and to be honest our biggest cliff hanger ending yet! One surprise is when a Dragon masters Dragon stone is stolen. This is book 25 but we have reread a few of the volumes, making it the 37th time we have read a book in the series together, and she has read most of them 3 or 4 times waiting for new ones to come out. As a family we eagerly await the new volumes that have been announced. In this volume Graham Howells returns as the illustrator, he has illustrated a few in the series. But let us return to this volume. 

The last part of the description of this volume is:

“The legendary Star Dragon must battle the powerful Shadow Dragon in the latest action-packed installment of this New York Times bestselling series! Pick a book. Grow a Reader! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow! Drake and the rest of the Dragon Masters are one step closer to stopping the Shadow Dragon from blanketing the world with its sky-shadow. They have the Star Flute! Now they just need to summon the Star Dragon. But first they must figure out how to play the flute. They will need to work fast! Can the Star Dragon help them save the world? With engaging black-and-white artwork on every page, kids won't be able to put down this action-packed adventure!”

This story is the continuation of a darker and longer story line than any of the others in the series. My daughter reads through the chapter titles before beginning, and she guesses what might happen. The chapters this time are:

The Star Flute
The Great Library
A Starry Tale
Help from Darpan
Guardian of the Temple
A Surprise in the Shadows
Breaking Through
A Lost Connection
The Summoning
Stella and Nova
The Sky Battle
Super Shine!
Clear Skies
Wizard Worries
The Star Stone
A Friend in Need

The story continues directly from the last. This time we meet a new dragon master, and Drake asks Petra for help. In this volume we encounter a Griffin, we battle Chaya and Aruna again. And we encounter sky-shadow-creatures. We meet Nova the star dragon from legends and her dragon master Stella. And the story ends with a great surprise about Griffith. But to find out what you will need to read this volume.

My daughter gave it a 4.5 out of 5. She really did not like the surprise at the end of the story. She thought this one would end a story arc, but it seems to be setting up the next. She loved that there was again sign language in this volume. And there was music including bars you could try and play yourself.

With being 26 books into a series my daughter has made a chart of the dragons, their masters, and their primary powers, and is now adding secondary powers as they are discovered.  This is another excellent read in a great series. The series has real staying power. Even though they are well below my daughters reading level she still loves them! I believe they will be lifelong favourites. We can easily recommend this book and series!    

Dragon Master Books:
1. Rise of the Earth Dragon
2. Saving the Sun Dragon
3. Secret of the Water Dragon
4. Power of the Fire Dragon
5. Song of the Poison Dragon

6. Flight of the Moon Dragon
7. Search for the Lightning Dragon
26. Cave of the Crystal Dragon
27. Haunting of the Ghost Dragon
... 
The Epic Guide to Dragon Masters
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Legend of the Star Dragon - Tracey West and Graham Howells - Dragon Masters  Book 25

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