Dream+Land+(fantasy)

This is the fantasy review page.

//Dragon's Blood// by Jane Yolen is about a boy who steals a dragon.This is the first book of three in the Pit Dragon Chronicles. It's a thrilling adventure about Jakkin, a bond boy who makes an attempt to free himself by entering a dragon into the fighting pits to fill his bond bag with gold.

For a ten minute interview with Jane Yolen about her writing, click here:http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=jane+yolen%2C&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#q.

I would recommend this book to readers who love books where dragons are portrayed as good characters.This book is a nice solid read, although it is not difficult. It is a perfect example of middle school fantasy. JCH

=//The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm, by Nancy Farmer//=

//The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm,// is about three siblings who are kept isolated all their lives until one day when they convince their caretaker to let them explore the city. On that one day in the city they get kidnapped!Their parents hire three unusual detectives, Ear, Eye, and Arm, who each have supernatural powers, to find the children.

The book soon becomes a thrilling, fast-paced adventure as the children escape one horror after another, with the detectives always close behind them. A wonderful book for children ages 10-15.   JCH

The City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau 

//The City of Ember// is about a city that's underground. The city is equipped with what was once a endless supply of anything the people of Ember might need. However in this story the food begins to run out and the great floodlights that once lit Ember begin to go out. The people of Ember don't know what to do, because as far as they know they're the only people in existence. This is a wonderful book for people ages 8-99.JCH

**The House of the Scorpion** **, by Nancy Farmer **

The House of the Scorpion is about a clone who is well taken care of and treated like a normal boy, but one day he is discovered and he learns that in the real world clones are treated no better than animals. Later on he learns he is special because he is the clone of a rich drug dealer so he is given extra opportunities normal kids don't receive. The rest of the book talks about his many adventures as a clone, in a country that was once part of Mexico, ruled by drug dealers.

I really enjoyed this book because of the creative and intriguing story line and hope that others will enjoy it too. this great book for ages 10+JCH

 Pendragon Before the War 1 and 2 by D.J. McHale These two books tell the story of the lives of the characters in the Pendragon novels. They give the reader background on the adventures of the other travelers before they met Bobby, the main character in the later Pendragon books. As an example, one of the stories is that of Spader who lives on a planet covered entirely by water. The story tells how he and his worst enemy fight off an entire crew of pirates without ever having help from adults. This is a wonderful book for children ages 8+JCH

Secret of the Sirens by Julia Golding

This wonderful book is about a girl named Connie Lionheart who discovers she has the power to talk to mythical creatures who, not only exist, but can bond with a human companion. Even amongst fellow companions, Connie is different. She is a "universal" which means she can bond with any creature instead of just one. She soon hears of Kullervo, the equivalent of a universal creature, who is bent on the destruction of humans. Throughout this book Connie must mentally battle this monster to keep him from turning her to his side. This is a great book for fantasy and environmental lovers of any age.JCH

Heart's Blood By Jane Yolen

This is the sequel to //Dragon's Blood.// This is a wonderful book about a boy who trained a dragon and then accidentally fell in with a bunch of rebels.then he was forced to run into the mountains to hide from the officials, where his dragon was killed defending him. Throughout this book the main character is forced to make drastic life changing decisions that some real people have to make today.

This is a great book for fantasy readers ages 10+ JCH