This week as part of book week my son is thoroughly embracing his love for all things fantastical, magical and most notably Dragon related. Considering his only 5 its a bit too young for Game of Thrones so I thought I would share a few of our favourite dragon themed stories.

Dragon Kingdom of Wrenly

This series of graphic novels have without a doubt been my son’s favourite books for the last year after finding them in the local library. Written by Jordan Quinn the series is a spin off from his Kingdom of Wrenly novels and follows the Ruskin the Legendary Scarlett dragon through a series of adventures that are quickly revealed to all be part of a more serious plot by an evil wizard. As a spin off the series takes place in an established world were the Kingdom is made up of different races including Pixies, Giants, Trolls and of course Dragons. However, while Wrenly is ruled by humans these books focus on the home of Dragons, Crestwood. This is the start of most of Ruskin’s adventures as he and his friend Cinder, Groth and the mischievous Roke most overcome each new obstacle and slowly uncover the truth.

The series has a bit of everything with some interesting lore, a healthy degree of mischief and humour all amongst some engaging adventures. It has some dark moments but nothing too intense and you still always have the feeling that Ruskin and his friends will manage to get out of trouble. It means it’s pretty much perfect for the younger age group were kids are looking for something a bit more then a picture book.

Wings of Fire

This one probably comes as no surprise as Wings of Fire is definitely every in stores and has branched out into a bit of merchandising, my son loves his colouring book. Whether it is the graphic novels or the original books Wings of Fire offers a rich world with a nice introduction to the political intrigue and in fighting often found in more adult fantasy. The overall premise of a group of young dragonets that are destined to end a global conflict and bring peace to dragon kind based on a prophecy is straight forward enough but like all good fantasy it quickly becomes more complicated.

The characters are more fleshed out and richer than anything else on this list and the Wings of Fire is definitely written for an older audience as it is pretty common for me to see it in a year 6 or 7 classroom. However, despite this it hasn’t prevented my son from enjoying the audio books on Spotify as he gradually understands more of the plot and can connect with the characters. I’m really looking forward to the future when he is able to read these on his own as it will be a good stepping stone into some more heavy duty fantasy.

How to Train your Dragon

No doubt, you may have seen the movies following Hiccup and his dragon toothless as they strive create new world were Vikings and dragon’s can live in harmony however it is well worth checking out Cressida Cowell’s original books. It might come as a shock but they are very different from the films with a much more humorous tone. While the characterisation of characters like Hiccup is clearly similar the dragons themselves and their presence on Burke is completely different. This might be a bit of problem for some people and definitely may make it less appealing for those fans of the films but it actually makes the books much more accessible to a younger audience.

An added bonus for me is that the audio books on Spotify are narrated by one of my favourite actors, David Tennant. His accent is simply perfect to really breath life into books and honestly it means my son and I often prefer to listen then to pull the books down of the shelf.

Dragon Girls

It might seem a bit girly for a boy but as an English teacher and a avid reader I know that boys often develop a really dislike for reading. Especially as they get older it is pretty common for boys to characterise reading as a famine activity and at best limit themselves to a male protagonist. As such I picked up the first Dragon Girls book to really help counter act these gender stereotypes and continue to build on his diverse engagement with books through the fantasy genre. I wasn’t really expecting too much as it is pretty girly, filled with cute creatures, glitter powers and friendship. However, he clearly loved the different light hearted tone and we are quickly buying the rest of the set.

The unique thing about Dragon Girls compared to the other books on this list is that the primary characters are actually girls that transform into dragons through the magic of the tree queen. It becomes their mission to protect the magic forest and all its amazing creatures from the shadow sprits and their evil queen. As with most fantasy there is the clear good verses evil narrative but everything is pretty light hearted with the girls finding off the villains with roar power and protecting the forest from losing all its colour. It really is just a feel good read perfect for any gender.

Dragon Masters

This series from Tracy West is a great introduction to fantasy as it is filled with the plenty of adventures and dark wizards planning to take over the world. Drake the central character is plucked from an ordinary life as an onion farmer to be the dragon master for an earth dragon he names worm. Things start pretty slowly for this new found pair but they quickly make a connection and it is clear that worms powers make him pretty special. Over the series Drake and the other dragon masters continue to find more friends and find themselves in increasingly darker situations. Yet, this resourceful band always seem to find away through some guts and plenty of determination.

It is a really well put together series which introduces many of the key fantasy tropes to young readers through the relatable eyes of a group of 8 year olds. There is plenty of fun and magic with an appropriate level of danger to interest kids without being scary. Finding these on the Star Room read aloud podcast has really been amazing as it is probably at least almost every second week that we are listening to a few books.

Zog

This was my son’s favourite book for a good two years when he was younger, during covid I even recorded it so he could listen to me read it during isolation. All of Julia Donaldson’s books were on heavy rotation and still get a bit of run today but Zog and the sequel Zog and the flying doctors definitely stood out. It is just a good read with some nice messages and plenty of fun. The reparative structure, rhyme and as well as Zog’s continual mistakes makes it perfect for little kids.

Ella and Owen

This one is full on laughter and just plan ridicules on so many levels, in some ways it is like Monty Python for kids. These twin dragons get into some bizarre situations with a good healthy dose of sibling rivalry. The constant bickering and attempts to one up each other are very relatable for anyone with siblings and led to plenty of laughs. Each story sees this pair of dragons getting caught in the middle of some ridiculous situations. One book has them repair the relationship between the Pumpkin Kings head and his body which has run away with a witch to get married, all so they can get a map out of the swamp. Another sees them in a battle of the sexes alongside a pair of unicorns with rainbow power, once again completely random, but it works. That’s the joy with Ella and Owen it really is just a bit of fun with each story a blast and a great change from the more heavy duty books we read or listen to regularly.

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So if your into fantasy and want to get your little one on the path to reading Lord of the Rings this book week it might be the best chance to start them off on something with a few dragons. My son barely wants to read anything else.