A Branches Book (Dragon Masters #1) - Rise of the Earth Dragon

This book showed up in my recommended books because of reading some Dragon books by Chris d'Lacey and I thought I would give it a try. It is a good fun read and is now in the too be read list for my son and I to read together. There are currently 4 books available in this series with a 5th planned for the spring of 2016. The illustrations by Graham Howells are very wonderful and are on every page of the book. These books are geared for early readers from 1st-03rd grade and are set at a reading level of grade 2.

Young Drake is an onion famer and likely one of the poorest children in King Roland's Kingdom. One day while harvesting onions a soldier rides up and proclaims that Drake has been summoned to the castle. When Drake arrives he is informed that the Dragon stone has indicated he has the ability to become a Dragon master and so he has been brought to the castle to train. But he is not the only student there; the other students are Rori, Bo, and Ana. And each of them already has their own dragon. Drake is soon introduced to his dragon a brown earth dragon, that he names worm. Griffith the wizard is their teacher and advisor. And the one who interprets the Dragon stone. Soon the 4 children are training together but not really getting along well. As the children discover that not everything is as it appears events take a dark turn.

This was a good read, and introduction into the series. It was wonderfully illustrated, and well enough written that I have picked up the other books that are available to give them a read. Young children will love the illustrations and the story. It is a good beginning let's see where the story goes next.

This series has been PERFECT for my struggling reader. My daughter (grade 3 but reading at low 2nd grade) was tired of the "babyish" books that were at her level. She was just getting to the Magic Treehouse stage, but not really connecting with the story line of that series. She wanted MORE action and adventure; she wanted dragons and magic and fantasy. When this series popped up on my the store page, I KNEW my daughter would LOVE IT. Best Christmas gift ever! She read the first two books in 2 weeks and is eagerly anticipating the remaining two installments. There's not much out there that is like this: beautiful, detailed illustrations; chapter-book style without being quite as wordy and intimidating as "real" novels; adventurous and "big kid friendly." Best of all -- my daughter (while waiting for the final two books) has gained the confidence to try other books. So thankful for this spark that set her reading on fire!

Eight-year-old farmer's son Drake is (essentially) conscripted into King Roland the Bold's secret army of dragons and dragon masters (though admittedly without all that much objection on his or his parents' part) where he meets "his" Earth Dragon and the other three child dragon masters and their elemental dragons. As the last dragon master selected, Drake and his dragon, which he names Worm, must play a little catchup with the others, in particular figuring out just what exactly an earth dragon can do.

When I first got a look at the covers and descriptions of the next three books in this series: Dragon Masters #2: Saving the Sun Dragon,Dragon Masters #3: Secret of the Water Dragon, and Dragon Masters #4: Power of the Fire Dragon, I feared the worst, that they were going to be essentially the same story repeated four times, just with different dragons and dragon masters.

Fortunately, that turned out not to be the case. In the course of this very first book, Drake and the other young dragon masters discover that they haven't been told the entire truth and that they face some sort of threat. It will be interesting to see their reactions after more of the truth comes out in future books.

This series has been PERFECT for my struggling reader. My daughter (grade 3 but reading at low 2nd grade) was tired of the "babyish" books that were at her level. She was just getting to the Magic Treehouse stage, but not really connecting with the story line of that series. She wanted MORE action and adventure; she wanted dragons and magic and fantasy. When this series popped up on my the store page, I KNEW my daughter would LOVE IT. Best Christmas gift ever! She read the first two books in 2 weeks and is eagerly anticipating the remaining two installments. There's not much out there that is like this: beautiful, detailed illustrations; chapter-book style without being quite as wordy and intimidating as "real" novels; adventurous and "big kid friendly." Best of all -- my daughter (while waiting for the final two books) has gained the confidence to try other books. So thankful for this spark that set her reading on fire!

Eight-year-old farmer's son Drake is (essentially) conscripted into King Roland the Bold's secret army of dragons and dragon masters (though admittedly without all that much objection on his or his parents' part) where he meets "his" Earth Dragon and the other three child dragon masters and their elemental dragons. As the last dragon master selected, Drake and his dragon, which he names Worm, must play a little catchup with the others, in particular figuring out just what exactly an earth dragon can do.

When I first got a look at the covers and descriptions of the next three books in this series: Dragon Masters #2: Saving the Sun Dragon,Dragon Masters #3: Secret of the Water Dragon, and Dragon Masters #4: Power of the Fire Dragon, I feared the worst, that they were going to be essentially the same story repeated four times, just with different dragons and dragon masters.

Fortunately, that turned out not to be the case. In the course of this very first book, Drake and the other young dragon masters discover that they haven't been told the entire truth and that they face some sort of threat. It will be interesting to see their reactions after more of the truth comes out in future books.

My reluctant readers (2nd grade) now love to read! It's hard to get two ADHD boys, age 8, to sit still and focus on reading. They love this series of books and I no longer have to fight them to read each day. They've struggled to stay on grade level due to not practicing, and the Dragon Masters series is the perfect level for them and very engaging. They can't wait to keep going to find out what happens next.

This is an excellent book designed for 1st to 3rd graders. Younger readers would probably need help reading, but there are illustrations on every page that are detailed and interesting. They draw a reader into the book. My issue had black and white illustrations. Colour ones would have been so much better.

The story is exciting, Drake, the son of an onion farmer is chosen to be a dragon master. He has never even been on a horse before he is taken to the king's castle. There is some mystery and adventure here and dragons of course.
The only disappointment is that the story leaves one hanging, which feels like a marketing ploy to get you to buy the next book - when you probably would have wanted it anyhow. That is just an irritation.

Good illustrations.
Suitable for reading out loud to/with a 6 year old child.
Short story, interesting plot, sort of a "to be continued" ending as the book is the first in a series.
The story itself is about the length of a short chapter in a regular (adult level) novel, about the right length
for a child's attention span.
The illustrations really made the difference, otherwise the story would lose much of it's appeal for young readers.

Recommended

Suggested reading, read to/with your child over 2 to 4 sessions, depending on time and attention span.
My grandson is hyperactive with a short attention span, so that is why I suggest that the book could be broken down into as many as 4 sessions. For older children, I would say up to about age 12, read at their own pace.

Review from my tween: "What I like about the story is that the characters each have their stories to tell. For example, Drake is from a local farm while Bo appears to be from China and Ana seems to be from Egypt. And, the details in the illustrations are so good especially each kids’ dragon. Drake’s story was interesting to watch like seeing him meet everyone and training with his dragon, Worm. Each of the dragons were awesome because they all had their own ways of flying. The conclusion was a relief following all the kids being trapped in a cave in chapter 14. My mom and I already order part two – 'Saving the Sun Dragon'."

This is a fantastic series for early readers. It works especially well for those transitioning from basic texts to early chapter books.

This was the first chapter book my first grader read. The text is easy enough, but the drawings and the subject matter held his interest. It was a treat to be able to find something at his level that allowed for some suspense and the completion of a full story. When I showed the book to his teacher, she decided to order the series for her classroom. We also ordered the subsequent books in the series.

A great way to engage early readers and to help build confidence with longer texts. Highly recommended for kids with an interest in dragons.

What a sweet story for beginner readers. The story involves both boys and girls, so this book can be targeted for all students in elementary school grades. The story includes a wizard, a dragon master (or course!), magical stones, dragons who understand English, a king, soldiers sent by the king to capture dragons, a worried mother, and other children brought down into the kingdom to learn to be dragon masters. Friendship and compassion are themes in this book that should delight most children. The story ends with an obvious continuation for the second book.

There are plenty of illustrations on every page, making this a fast and fun read for young children.

Looking forward to the rest in this series!
My daughter has been reading many other books by this author and honestly was not sure if she would like this kind of book.
She and I both enjoyed it a great deal and have ordered the other books in this series that are out and coming soon.
Such a cute fun story and so perfect for those kids who are ready for the next step in a chapter book.
Not so short they will be done right away and pictures to hold kids interest.
This is one of those books that you have to read before reading any of the other books and have to keep reading them in the right order or you will be a little lost.

This is a fantastic book for young readers. My second grader tends to be a reluctant reader, but this book had him begging to stay up late to keep reading. The illustrations are wonderful and the characters relatable. It is not in the AR database (as of Oct 2014) but it is on the list of books to be added in the near future. We will definitely be adding the rest of this series to our home library as they are released!

Edited - I just got an e-mail this morning (Oct 16th, 2014) that Dragon Masters Book #1 is now available for AR students. It's listed as a 3.1 book that is worth 1pt. My son is super excited to be able to use this book for his AR goal!

Very cute start to an early readers series.

Drake is the son of an onion farmer and just positive that he'll have to spend the rest of his life harvesting onions when a knight from the king comes and literally plucks Drake up and into life at the Castle. Drake has been specially chosen by the dragon stone to have his own dragon. Drake meets the other dragon masters and their dragons but they all seem to have dragons that are stronger or more interesting than his own Earth Dragon that Drake named Worm. Trouble seems to be brewing at the Castle and the King may have ordered their dragons to be kidnapped and taken away from their families.

This is an early chapter book, meaning it's written for very early readers. The (black and white) pictures take up about as much page space as the words. As an adult, I found it very awkward to read, but I know that it fills a need for children that aren't ready for full chapter books. I can't overly recommend it as a read aloud. The sentences are so short and many that, again, I found it awkward to read. I wanted to combine sentences to make it flow better. I attempted reading it aloud to my (delayed) 6 year old that can't read yet, but I ended up setting it aside. I'll put it on the shelf for when he's ready for early reading.

This is a truly enjoyable chapter book for young readers. For a kid's book, it nicely characterizes 8 year old Drake and the other boy and two girls who are all Dragon Masters. And oh yes, Worm who is Drake's dragon is well portrayed. The plot flows nicely and has humor. Sensitive readers may find it a bit scary and feel sorry for how the dragons are captured, but I doubt that most of today's kids will find it disturbing. Basically, it's a very literate chapter book for the young reader.

Great book for elementary age children. They can read it to themselves, or it can be read to them. The adventure is charming and classic. It appeals both to girls and boys. My favorite part about it is the simplicity of vocabulary joint with a lot of easy to master new spelling vocabulary for this age group. If you have an advanced reader, this book is fantastic for 5-6 year old. It maybe to simple for an eight year old.

Great book for early readers. This is on the Accelerated Reader (AR) list as a 3.1 level worth 1.0 point. If you are looking for a series other than the Magic Tree House series, this series is great for anyone especially boys. The vocabulary, sentence structure, and content is appropriate for early readers. This books was able to keep my son's attention all the way to the end, which is difficult when transitioning to chapter books. Even though this book is listed at a 3.1, I would think readers on the 1.7 - 2.7 level could read this with minimum assistance.

My daughter and I really enjoyed this book. It has a lot of illustrations but is still a chapter book so it's a great transitional book for kids going from the younger books to chapter books. It was so cute with the dragon training premise. It was very creative and fun. It's a great book for a child to read on their own or get read to them. Highly recommended.

Fantastic chapter book for early readers. Appealing story and pictures on every page. We bought the first book at a fair. Loved so much we continue to read the series. Enjoyable books for boys and girls. Highly recommend!

With pictures on every page this is a great story for young readers transitioning to chapter books. It's an appealing and engaging story of friendship, cooperation, and dragons using words that aren't beyond the scope of second and third graders. A good choice for girls or boys, it's a book that the reading students I work with don't want to put down.

Scholastic has out done themselves with this new Branches line. My son was past the preschool books that we would buy in the store that were level 1. We tried other chapter books such as Magic Treehouse but it wouldn't keep my son's (first grader) attention nor my daughter(kinder). They would just want to find a page that had a picture on it. We happen to stumble across this book at my kid's book fair, since my kids love dragons. It was a huge hit. My son is no longer getting frustrated reading and it is keeping him engaged. Parents you won't be disappointed. I am now in the process of buying the rest of this series and a Eerie elementary,The Notebook Doom and Looniverse per my son's request .

That's the verdict from my daughter.

That being said I also think that the book is a good overall read. The plot moves fast enough, there are illustrations on just about every page (to keep straying readers interested), and the text is just right for readers moving up from "easy" reading.