What a whirlwind of a book this is. Part guide to growing and caring for dragons and part story. Following on from the very popular five 'Dragon' series of books this is introduced as an Essential Guide for all would be Dragon Gardeners.Tomas is obsessed by dragons and has had numerous adventures and encounters alongside his friends and Grandpa in the previous books in the series. This 'guide' aims to pull together all of Tomas' knowledge and advice. Although Tomas' friends from the previous books are now scattered all over the world, they speak regularly to each other through various electronic means to share their thoughts, ideas and dragon facts.There is a wonderful mix of madcap facts, stories and conversations that will delight 'Dragon' fans, told through text messages, fact cards (a bit like top trumps) and chats. Each facet of the book is differentiated by a change in text style to make it easily distinguishable. There are wonderful, lively black and white illustrations throughout by Sara Ogilvie which really enhance the story. The text is accessible and interesting with a good layout, leaving plenty of white space on the pages for those who maybe find reading tricky. Whilst there is a narrative story running throughout the book it can also be a pickup and put down read for the more nonfiction style of reader. However, this is a story, and we are talking about dragons, so we do have to go with the flow so to speak.There are some fascinating insights into dragon care! I particularly liked 'Where to keep your dragon; Before you grow a dragon, make sure you have somewhere warm and cosy for it to sleep. Hats are fine, but a shoebox is ideal!' Who knew!This is a great fun read that will captivate those 'dragon' minded youngsters out there.

Andy Shepherd weaves a charming mix of story and 'guide' in this delightful companion title to her bestselling THE BOY WHO GREW DRAGONS series - with stunning black and white illustrations from Sara Ogilvie in a beautifully designed interior