Illustrated by Kay Davault
5 stars
An engaging chosen-one adventure featuring magic, dragons, and a talking llama.
In this early chapter book series, llama caretaker Dak is recruited by his mysterious neighbor Fenn and magical llama Lucy to find the twelve Magic Stones of Ravenwood after they have been stolen. Their first stop is Dragons’ Den to find the fire stone before the thief does.
The writing is simple and straightforward, which would work well for the intended audience, but I also enjoyed it as an adult. The text also works in definitions for interesting vocabulary words like dire, cria, and dormant.
Nice themes of keeping promises and the importance of working as a team.
The black-and-white artwork pairs perfectly. I really enjoyed the art style. I also appreciated the map of the Kingdom of Ravenwood at the beginning of the book.
The backmatter includes a few pages from Fenn’s Creature Journal including a list of the magic sources, wizard covens, and elemental magics, as well as her entry about dragons. There is also a list of questions and activities for reading comprehension, reflections, and writing prompts.
A great start to the series. Very interested in reading more about Dak, Fenn, and Lucy’s efforts to protect the kingdom.