The Dreadful Dragon

Ronald is a truly terrible young wizard, who bluffed his way into the Wizards’ Clubhouse and is the butt of the other members’ jokes and tricks. In order to try and improve his image, he decides to magic up a dragon for a pet. However, the dragon is not house trained and is getting bigger by the day! It is at this point that the fun really begins and Ronald, together with Hattie who is staying with her uncle at the Clubhouse, have to try and keep the dragon from causing havoc.

Kaye Umansky has been a stalwart of children's publishing for many years, particularly with her witch, Pongwiffy. She really knows her audience and connects with them and their sense of humour. This is a fast and funny book for newly confident readers that combines wizards and dragons with some lessons about getting on in life, but not by pretending to be something you are not. This is a really good addition to the books available for this age group, taking them away from bland guided reading and showing them the imagination and fun to be found through reading such a well plotted story.