Dragonsdale facts for kids
First edition
|
|
| Author | The Two Steves writing as Salamanda Drake |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Gilly Marklew |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Series | Dragonriders of Bresal |
| Genre | Children's fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Scholastic |
|
Publication date
|
2007 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 288 pp (first edition) |
| ISBN | 978-0-439-87173-0 (first) |
| OCLC | 76871351 |
| LC Class | PZ7.D78297 Dra 2007 |
| Followed by | Riding The Storm |
Dragonsdale is an exciting fantasy novel written by The Two Steves (Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore). They used the pen name "Salamanda Drake" for this book. Scholastic published it in 2007. It's the first book in the "Dragonriders of Bresal" series, followed by Riding the Storm in 2008.
Contents
The World of Dragonsdale
The story of Dragonsdale takes place in a magical place called the Isles of Bresal. These islands are protected by a mysterious bank of mist known as The Veil. On Bresal, there are special stables where dragons are trained. One of these stables is called Dragonsdale.
Cara's Dream
The main character is a girl named Cara. She works at Dragonsdale, cleaning and caring for the magnificent dragons. Many kids come to Dragonsdale to learn how to train dragons. They hope to take part in exciting dragon riding competitions.
However, Cara is not allowed to ride any dragon. Her father, Huw, is the head of Dragonsdale. He forbids her from riding because her mother had a terrible accident with dragons and passed away. Huw is afraid of losing Cara too. Even so, Cara loves helping with the dragons. Her favorite dragon is a special one named Skydancer.
New Friends and Challenges
Cara is asked to train a young farm boy named Drane. He needs to learn how to clean the stables and do all the chores Cara usually does. As they work together, Cara and Drane slowly become good friends. But Drane seems to have a secret.
Meanwhile, many children at Dragonsdale are getting ready for the big dragon riding competitions. Cara cannot join, but she supports her friends, Breena and Wony. Cara is still determined to convince her father to let her ride dragons. She dreams of one day competing with Skydancer.
Facing Obstacles
Dragonsdale follows Cara as she faces many challenges. One challenge is dealing with an arrogant girl named Hortense. Hortense constantly tries to make Cara angry. Cara eventually achieves her goal of buying Skydancer. But then, something goes wrong, and she loses control of him. It seems Skydancer might have to be put down.
Cara cannot let this happen. She runs away with Skydancer to the mountains. In the mountains, Cara gets lost and takes the wrong path. She nearly falls off a cliff! Luckily, Skydancer grabs her shirt and pulls her to safety. After this, Cara and Skydancer hear strange sounds for the first time, like "Firedogs" and "Howlers."
A Secret Ride
They hear the sounds again, and Cara discovers that Drane has been following her. The Firedogs and Howlers begin to circle them. Skydancer runs out of flame. Drane encourages Cara to ride Skydancer to escape. Cara also tries to get Drane to ride Skydancer to be safe. But Drane refuses.
Back at Dragonsdale, Cara's father, Huw, is very worried about her. In the mountains, Drane finally convinces Cara to ride Skydancer. As they fly away, Skydancer picks up Drane in his talons! Together, Skydancer, Cara, and Drane fly back to Dragonsdale. They promise each other they won't tell anyone that Cara rode Skydancer.
The Competition and Resolution
Cara secretly trains Skydancer to fly through obstacle courses. One day, Hortense and Huw discover her secret training. Huw is very upset and bans Cara from riding Skydancer ever again.
A big competition arrives, and Hortense is chosen to ride Skydancer. Skydancer makes many mistakes because Hortense gives him confusing signals. They lose the competition. When Cara goes to the ring, she sees Hortense yelling at Skydancer. Hortense even punishes him with a whip on his muzzle. Skydancer gets very angry and prepares to breathe fire at Hortense. Just in time, Cara stops Skydancer.
Cara and Skydancer decide to do the obstacle course together. Cara does an amazing job! She knows her father must be angry. But to her surprise, Huw lets Cara ride dragons again. He also bans Hortense from riding Skydancer ever again. The dragon and dragon rider live happily ever after, flying off into the sun. Their adventures continue in the next book, Riding the Storm.
