Dragon Rider
By: Cornelia Funke
My Rating: THREE out of FIVE stars
Best for: 10 and up
I wish all books about dragons were awesome.
They’re not.
Maybe there was something lost in translation from the original German…or maybe this is what the author intended. No idea. But either way, Dragon Rider disappointed me.
I wanted a 600 page book of exciting adventures and endearing characters while riding on a dragon.
I got a 600 page book of boring things that should have been exciting and characters with no character riding on a dragon.
I’m a grown up reading a children’s story, so maybe I’m too harsh. If your middle grader can handle a 600 page book and likes dragons, this might be the book for them. It’s perfectly age appropriate and has some redeeming qualities. I did mention dragons, didn’t I?
It seems to me, though, that if a middle grader can handle a book this length, they can also handle some depth to their story. This is written on the level of a second grader’s first chapter book…and goes on for 600 pages.
Ugh.
But like I said, those are likely picky, grown-up problems. If this books gets kids hooked on reading, I will support it all day long.
Does adventure and dragons fit your middle grader? Give Dragon Rider a try.
Happy Reading!
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10 responses to “#DragonRider: Lost in translation?”
I remember trying to read this book and being bored by it. I have no idea whether I finished it or not. The best memory I can come up with was “blegh.” I won’t be trying it again.
x The Captain
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Oh good! I’m glad I wasn’t the only one!
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I actually wondered what I was missing because it seemed to be raved about by other readers. So we be two peas in a pod in this regard.
x The Captain
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Have you read her Inkheart books? I read the first one and was bored to tears. So I suspect it is her style and not “just” a translation issue.
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Oh! I was wondering what else I had read by her. I forgot she wrote those. I did read the first Inkheart book and thought it was just okay. Picked up the second, didn’t seem like anything new or interesting, and didn’t finish. So yes a style thing. I won’t be picking up anything else by her.
x The Captain
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I “think” I actually liked the movie of Inkheart better and it wasn’t very good 🙂
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I haven’t read Inkheart, and I’ve always thought they sound fun…but I’ve heard the same things you’re saying about it. I imagine it’ll stay pretty far down my TBR list!
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Yeah, save it for when you have no other books to review 😉
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Ha! It will be a sad day if I ever find myself that far down my list!
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Hardy har har!
x The Captain
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