Review: Lizzy’s Dragon by Melissa Gijsbers

#LizzysDragon  #BooksOnTour  #BlogTour  #Day1

Welcome to the blog tour for Lizzy’s Dragon and author, Melissa Gijsbers! Thanks for joining us! We hope you enjoy all the amazing sights we have in store for the ride. Let’s begin with a review:

Lizzy’s Dragon, Melissa Gijsbers (author), Kylie Leane (illus.), Stone Table Books, September 2017.

Why is it that her spoilt younger brother, Joey, gets a dog for the farm, but Lizzy isn’t allowed a pet lizard? It all seems so unfair, until her luck changes and Lizzy discovers a mysterious-looking egg in her garden. What becomes of that egg is far more than she could’ve wished for. A surreal fantasy story of life, hope, friendship and spirit, and sibling relationships, that will take its junior to middle grade readers on an ‘uplifting’ journey.

In twenty bite-sized chapters, Melissa divulges her sense of adventure, with a splash of humour, to grip her young audience with transparent language and a straightforward storyline. The book is also speckled with equally friendly black and white illustrations, appeasing our imaginations at various intervals.

Lizzy is an intuitive and brave young girl. Coming to realise her growing new pet’s characteristics, piece by piece, she also uncovers the potential to help out her whole community in a difficult time of drought and fire. Not quite a lizard, but in fact, a water dragon, Bubbles becomes Lizzy’s secret friend and town saviour. Despite her brother’s displeasure, Lizzy keeps and trains her dragon elusively, until desperate times call for desperate measures. Unveiling her beautiful creature, she is unsure of how he will be received. But, under Lizzy’s guidance, Bubbles’ efforts to fill the dams and spray the precious water resource to stem the blazes certainly doesn’t go unnoticed. And even Joey gets the reward he was wanting.

Making for valuable points of discussion in pet ownership, sibling tensions, environmental forces and our responsibilities in sustainability, Lizzy’s Dragon is also a delightful read where young imaginations from age seven can take flight.

Review by Romi Sharp.

#LizzysDragon #fantasy #adventure #juniorreader

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