{My thoughts} – Drake is your average 8 year old boy that is working in his family’s fields. He’s nothing but a lowly onion picker, when the kings soldiers show up and haul him off to the castle with little to no explanation to him and his family. Once he gets there he is introduced to a couple of other children around his age. They are Ana, Rori and Bo. Like them they were all taken to the castle under the command of their King Roland.

Once he is there for a little while he learns that there are so many things that are hidden from the people. He learns that there are Dragons and a dragon stone. He learns that the dragon stone helps the Dragon Masters control communicate with and control the dragons. Most of all he learns that he is a Dragon Master just like his three new friends.

A lot takes place in this book, but the most important thing that stands out to me is that the four new friends learn to trust each other. They also learns how to work together as a team. And most importantly they learn how to become Dragon Masters. Although they are just starting they are learning. When the book ends there is a bit of chaos and then the Wizard ends up massively concerned but doesn’t know for sure if there is a need to worry quite yet. If you’d like to learn more pick up the book and give it a read. It was a fun read to me and I look forward to reading more of the series soon. ( )

My kids loved this series when they were in the early reader phase. Lots of dragons and adventure.

The concept of the series is fun, and Graham Howells' illustrations are wonderful. But I have some problems with the plot itself, to the extent that I'm not sure I'd want my own kids (if I had any) to read the series and absorb some of the messages presented in Rise of the Earth Dragon. The king's soldiers arrive and take our main character, Drake, who's only 8 years old, away from his home. Drake's mother initially protests but, when hearing that Drake has been "chosen" by the king, simply commands her son to "do as the king says!" I don't want kids to think it's okay for anyone to carry them off against their will, whether those people are the king's soldiers or random strangers, et al. Also, the mom has no idea what Drake has been chosen for. He could have been chosen as a sacrifice, for all she knows! Once he arrives at the castle, Drake isn't allowed to tell his family what he's doing. Lying to parents -- yet another lesson I don't want children to learn. Later, we're given clues to indicate that the king is building an army of dragons--an army of dragons that no one else knows about--and that the dragons are being held against their will and are not necessarily happy where they are. But, in this first book at least, Drake and the other dragon masters simply go along with everything, not asking any questions or protesting any aspects of the dragon program.

All in all, it just left a bit of a bad, creepy taste in my mouth. However, most kids in the target age group will probably find the plot intriguing and the pictures entertaining.

Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley. ( )

Mentioned in a blog post at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2020/07/20/chapter-books-whats-good/ (July 20th release)

I loved this book and I love the whole series. This book is about a boy who discovers he is a dragon master, a person who can control dragons. He is then brought to a castle to stay with the other chosen dragon masters where he learns how to control dragons and use their powers for good. ( )