New Review Tuesday: Dragons, Dragons, Everywhere

Are your students biting their nails for the release of Brisingr, Christopher Paolini’s third book in the Inheritance Cycle? (It comes out this weekend!)

Give them something else to chew on… like one of these other dragon tales:

Merlin’s Dragon, by T.A. Barron, follows the adventures of Basil, a young dragon determined to warn Merlin about a plot threatening Avalon. I’ve been a fan of Barron’s ever since I read Heartlight as a fourth grader—one of those flashlight-under-the-covers experiences—and this new story is without a doubt a page-turner. It’s a good choice for sixth graders and up.

Kenny and the Dragon is the latest from Tony DiTerlizzi, also known as co-author of The Spiderwick Chronicles. In it Kenny the Rabbit must convince his reluctant neighbors that the dragon roaming the countryside isn’t so bad after all. This one is a great pick for second through fifth graders, or other readers not quite ready for Paolini.

The Dragon in the Sock Drawer, by Kate Klimo, offers a more contemporary setting. Two ten-year-old cousins find a mysterious egg that hatches a baby dragon. Good thing they also stumble upon “foundadragon.org.” I loved Klimo’s sense of humor and think upper-elementary kids would get a kick out of it, too.

What’s your favorite dragon story? Are you planning on reading Brisingr?