dragons – Page 7 – BookBunnies

Caramel reviews The Brightest Night (Book Five of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland and Mike Holmes

Caramel reviews the graphic novel version of The Brightest Night (Book Five of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland (with art work by Mike Holmes).

Caramel has already reviewed the graphic novel versions of the first four books of Tui Sutherland’s Wings of Fire series; below he shares his thoughts on the fifth book in the series, published recently as a graphic novel: The Brightest Night. As in the first four graphic novelizations, this book is adapted by Barry Deutsch and Rachel Swirsky, art work is by Mike Holmes, color is by Maarta Laiho.

In the following Sprinkles is taking notes and is asking questions.

You might like to check out Caramel’s reviews of The Dragonet Prophecy, The Lost Heir, The Hidden Kingdom, and The Dark Secret before moving forward.

Caramel reviews The Brightest Night (the graphic novel version of Book Five of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland and Mike Holmes. — Caramel reviews *The Brightest Night* (the graphic novel version of Book Five of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland and Mike Holmes.

Sprinkles: Okay, Caramel. You finally got your paws on the fifth graphic novel based on the Wings of Fire series.

Caramel: Yup. I had told you I was waiting for it for a while when we were talking about the original version of the Dragonet Prophecy.

S: So was it all that you hoped for?

C: Yup. This is the fifth and last book of the prophecy series. So that was cool! Sunny found her mom and dad, and a lot of things are now clear.

S: Tell me about that. So does the prophecy story tie up well?

C: Yes. All the dragonets are well and things are all tied up well. They even set up a school at Jade Mountain.

S: So the five books tell a good story all together, right?

C: Yes.

S: Now that you read all five as graphic novels, will you go back and read the original five as well?

C: I am more curious about the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth books!

S: Hmm, maybe you should read the original books before we dive into the full series?

C: It is so hard to wait though…

S: Okay, we can talk about that later. For now, tell me if the author leaves any doors open for the following books.

C: Yes. I think the next five books are about Jade Mountain.

S: Hmm, I see. Wikipedia tells us that the second story arc is called the Jade Mountain Prophecy.

C: Yes, I want to read those too!

Caramel is reading The Brightest Night (the graphic novel version of Book Five of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland and Mike Holmes. — Caramel is reading *The Brightest Night* (the graphic novel version of Book Five of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland and Mike Holmes.

S: Okay, so then we an conclude that you liked this fifth book.

C: Yes.

S: So what three words would you use to describe it?

C: Colorful, exciting, and NightWings. Those are all over the place in this book.

S: Okay, I guess we can accept that. So who is your favorite character in the book?

C: Well, I like all of them. Thorn, Sunny, Clay, Tsunami, Glory, and Peril. All the main dragons. And Starflight. He is also a main character, and I like him too.

S: Hmm, so that is not being too selective.

C: Well, I do like all of them. They are all so interesting!

S: Okay, then. I guess we will let that be. And probably this is a good place to wrap things up. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading The Brightest Night (the graphic novel version of Book Five of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland and Mike Holmes. He might now need to go back to the original books to satisfy his curiosity about what is next. — Caramel enjoyed reading *The Brightest Night* (the graphic novel version of Book Five of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland and Mike Holmes. He might now need to go back to the original books to satisfy his curiosity about what is next.

Caramel reviews The Dragonet Prophecy (Book One of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland

Caramel got into the Wings of Fire series through the graphic novels path. He has already read and reviewed for the book bunnies blog the four books published as graphic novels: see his reviews of The Dragonet Prophecy, The Lost Heir, The Hidden Kingdom, and The Dark Secret. However, the graphic novels did not go far enough, and Caramel already knew there were a lot more books in the series. So this week he finally took the plunge and read The Dragonet Prophecy, the book that started the whole series. Below he shares his thoughts on this book with Sprinkles, who is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, I see you finally took the plunge and began to read the actual Wings of Fire books.

Caramel: Yes.

S: Why did you do that?

C: Because they did not yet publish them all as graphic novels. I am still waiting on my copy of the fifth book in the series. But there are actually at least fourteen books and I can’t wait that long for all of them to be made into graphic novels!

S: Hmm, so you are an impatient little one.

C: Yes.

S: So I know you already had read this book as a graphic novel. What was it like to revisit the same story, this time written as a standard novel?

C: It was interesting. It is practically the same story, which makes sense of course, but there are some differences.

S: What kind of differences?

C: In the novel, Dune has only three legs, and in the graphic novels he has four. And in the graphic novel version he does not have a scar on his wing. Also there are some more events in this one. In the graphic novel they do not go behind the waterfall, but here they do.

S: Hmm, so these seem like not too big a deal to me. The story was generally the same then, right?

C: Practically the same.

S: So tell our readers briefly what the story is so if they have not read the graphic novel or your review of it yet, they can still get something out of this review.

C: Well, I’d assume they could just read my review of the graphic novel, but here you go: there are five young dragons, called dragonets, dragonets of destiny, are captured by Queen Scarlet, and .. hmm I should not spoil that.

S: So what is the prophecy again?

C: The prophecy is a long poem at the very beginning of the book. Here it is:

When the war has lasted 20 years …
the dragonets will come.
When the land is soaked with blood and tears…
the dragonets will come.

Find the SeaWing egg of deepest blue.
Wings of night will come to you.
The largest egg in mountains high
will give to you the wings of sky.
For wings of earth, search through the mud,
for an egg the color of dragon blood.
And hidden alone from the rival queens,
the SandWing egg waits unseen.

Of three queens who blister and blaze and burn,
two shall die and one shall learn
if she bows to a fate that is stronger and higher,
she’ll have the powers of wings of fire.

Five eggs to hatch on brightest night,
Five dragons born to end the fight.
Darkness will rise to bring the light.
The dragonets are coming ….
The Dragonet Prophecy

Caramel is reading The Dragonet Prophecy (Book One of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland. — Caramel is reading *The Dragonet Prophecy* (Book One of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland.

S: That is a neat poem Caramel. So the story is about those five young dragons who are expected to “end the fight”?

C: Yes exactly. This is a really cool series. In fact while we were talking, we found that short trailer about the whole series. Maybe we can embed that video here.

S: Okay, let us give that a try:

“Wings of Fire” video by Scholastic from YouTube.

S: That does look neat Caramel. So would you recommend this book to anyone who only read the graphic novels?

C: Yes. I think it is really a good way to meet our old friends in this new way. And then I am looking forward to reading all the books in the series. I am not going to have to wait for all the graphic novels.

S: But I have a feeling you will still want to read the graphic novel versions as those come out.

C: Of course! I love looking at the pictures in the graphic novels. They are so cool!

S: It seems this book also has some illustrations.

C: Yes. They are all black and white, but there are sketches of all the different dragons.

S: Is it kind of like the sketches in How to Train Your Dragon series?

C: Not quite. In the How to Train Your Dragon series, the illustrations are a bit funnier, they are sort of obviously hand-drawn. These ones on the other hand look a lot more realistic, kind of like you were reading a book about dinosaurs, but about dragons instead.

S: I see. And there are some decorations and maps at the beginning. It does indeed look neat. I read that there is a bit more violence in these original books than there was in the graphic novels. Did you think so?

C: Yeah I guess. I guess the fights are more vicious in the original story.

S: I see. But you do not see the gore, you read about it.

C: Yeah, thankfully. And I still like the book. The story is still awesome. And if it gets a bit too much, I can always skip that part.

S: Did you need to skip a lot of parts?

C: No, actually I read all of it, except there is one violent scene, where Queen Scarlet… Wait, I am not telling. But in any case, I skipped that paragraph.

S: I see. Would you recommend this book to little bunnies like yourself then?

C: Yes but maybe their parents or other adults might want to look at it too to see if the little ones can handle things.

S: Thanks for that warning Caramel. I think you are ready to dive right into the next book. Aren’t you?

C: Yep.

S: Then what would you like to tell our readers as we wrap up this review?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading The Dragonet Prophecy (Book One of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland, and can't wait to dive into the rest of the series. — Caramel enjoyed reading *The Dragonet Prophecy* (Book One of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland, and can’t wait to dive into the rest of the series.

Caramel reviews Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

Today Caramel reviews Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon, that brings together the 1948 classic My Father’s Dragon, a Newberry Honor recipient, and its two sequels, Elmer and the Dragon (1950) and The Dragons of Blueland (1951), all written by Ruth Stiles Gannett and illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews Three Tales of My Father's Dragon, written by Ruth Stiles Gannett and illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett. — Caramel reviews *Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon*, written by Ruth Stiles Gannett and illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, tell me about this book.

Caramel: This book is nice if you like happy books and dragons.

S: Oh, so it is a happy book about dragons?

C: Yes and no. It’s also about Elmer Elevator, who meets a cat, who tells him about a dragon. Then Elmer goes and finds this dragon.

S: So is Elmer the father in the title?

C: Yes. The first part of the book is told by someone who calls Elmer “my father”. It makes it sound like it is a true story that happened to someone’s dad.

S: Hmm, so the narrator of the first book, My Father’s Dragon, is Elmer’s child, right?

C: Yes. And Elmer is a nine year old boy when things are happening.

S: So it really reads like you are hearing a tale that Elmer told his child and that child grew up and is telling you the story. And then the remaining two books are told in the third person, right?

C: Yes. There is no narrator calling Elmer “my father” anymore. Elmer is only a boy in those two parts.

S: I see. So then Elmer finds this dragon and they get to be friends?

C: Yes. The dragon has blue and yellow stripes and has a long tail and has red eyes and red feet.

S: That’s a very colorful dragon!

C: Yup. The cat helps Elmer devise a plan to help the dragon and Elmer goes and saves the dragon. The first part of the book is all about Elmer finding the dragon. Then they become friends, and in the second book, they are stuck in an island. Then the dragon takes Elmer home, and in the third part of the book he goes to his own home, Blueland. And then there is some trouble there, and Elmer helps him.

S: That sounds like a sweet story.

C: Yes, I think so.

Caramel is reading Three Tales of My Father's Dragon, written by Ruth Stiles Gannett and illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett. — Caramel is reading *Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon*, written by Ruth Stiles Gannett and illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett.

S: So you have read a lot of books about dragons. Does the dragon in this book resemble any dragons you know of?

C: Not really. This dragon is completely different. He does talk, and he is very colorful, like he is wearing striped PJs, dragon-sized and shaped of course. And I don’t think he can breathe fire or anything.

S: Do any one of Elmer’s family or friends meet this dragon?

C: No.

S: So is Elmer the only human involved in the stories?

C: Yes. There are canaries, there is the cat, there is an adult gorilla, and six baby gorillas, but there are not any other humans in the story. I mean, some show up, but they don’t really play a role in the story.

S: That is interesting. Somehow a lot of the things you are telling me about this book remind me of another classic Marshmallow had reviewed way back: Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater, There were humans in that story, but the tone of the book and the happiness you are talking about reminded me of that one. Anyways, did you enjoy reading this book?

C: Yes. I especially liked the pictures.

S: Oh, tell me more.

C: They are all black and white, but they are very detailed and I could see exactly what Elmer and his dragon look like.

S: That sounds great Caramel. Would you have enjoyed being friends with Elmer and the dragon?

C: Yep. They are both fun and nice.

S: So did you know that there is apparently a 1997 animated movie version of this story?

C: Yes, we just found it, but it is in Japanese!

S: Yes, so we could not really watch it and understand it fully, but it was nice to look at, wasn’t it?

C: Yes. Let’s put it in here!

S: Sure. We can put a link to it. Here it is: https://youtu.be/5obEfjUyr6k. We might still watch it some day.

C: Especially if we learn to speak Japanese.

S: True. Okay, let us wrap up our review. What are your three words to describe this book?

C: Adventure, happy, friendship.

S: Hmm, those are not quite descriptive words, but I get your point. Thank you. So what do you want to tell our readers as we wrap things up?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel really enjoyed reading Three Tales of My Father's Dragon, written by Ruth Stiles Gannett and illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett. — Caramel really enjoyed reading *Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon*, written by Ruth Stiles Gannett and illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett.

Caramel reviews How to Train Your Viking by Toothless the Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Caramel has been reviewing the books in Cressida Cowell’s How to Train Your Dragon series (2001-2015) one by one. He last reviewed the tenth book in the series: How to Seize A Dragon’s Heart. Just recently he obtained copies of the last two books in the series and is getting ready to review them for the book bunnies blog. But in the meantime, he wanted to talk about a little book that Cressida Cowell wrote (or apparently, translated from the Dragonese) in 2006: How to Train Your Viking by Toothless the Dragon. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews How to Train Your Viking by Toothless the Dragon, translated from the Dragonese by Cressida Cowell. — Caramel reviews *How to Train Your Viking by Toothless the Dragon*, translated from the Dragonese by Cressida Cowell.

Sprinkles: Okay, Caramel, so we just read this book together, and I think at 74 pages, this is the shortest book from Cowell about Hiccup and Toothless, no?

Caramel: Yup, at least the shortest I’ve read.

S: True, there might be other books, possibly for younger folks, that might be shorter. But this is definitely shorter than the ten books you read from the How To Train Your Dragon series, right?

C: Yes. And it is not quite a part of the series really.

S: So tell our readers what this book is then.

C: This is a story told by Toothless. All the ten books I read from the series are told from Hiccup’s point of view. But this time, Toothless is telling us a story.

S: Yes, and it is a pretty neat story I thought.

C: Yes. In this story, Hiccup and Fishlegs are still pretty young and so is Toothless. The young Vikings are in a hunting competition, and they are supposed to have their dragons hunt fish for them.

S: And then what happens?

C: Toothless eats a ton of glow-worms, those are nanodragons that the hunting dragons like to eat. And don’t worry, they are not being cannibals. Nanodragons are a different species, very small and apparently delicious according to Toothless. So Toothless says it is like humans eating chicken, not like humans eating each other.

S: I see.

C: Toothless is too full to hunt but then the glow-worms in his tummy light up and help them catch lots of fish. And then …

S: Wait, don’t give away all of the details!

C: Okay, I won’t. I will stop here. I will just say that the rest of the adventure involves a DarkBreather, a horrible terrible sea monster with a huge mouth.

S: Okay, I think that is a good clue to share with our readers, just enough to whet their appetites.

C: But I do have to say DarkBreathers are scary and they drink BLOOD…

S: Wow! Okay, I think we should not scare our readers too much!

C: Oh, they should not worry. It is not a scary story really, but really fun to read.

S: So quite a typical story from the How to Train Your Dragon world, right?

C: Yes, but a new one, it was not one that we had read earlier from Hiccup’s view.

Caramel is reading How to Train Your Viking by Toothless the Dragon, translated from the Dragonese by Cressida Cowell. — Caramel is reading *How to Train Your Viking by Toothless the Dragon*, translated from the Dragonese by Cressida Cowell.

S: Okay, so then let us think about the book more generally. What three words would you use to describe it?

C: Funny, adventurous, and interesting characters.

S: Well, we knew the characters from the other books already, no?

C: Yes, but hearing about them from Toothless is fun.

S: I see. And the dragons are still much smaller than the ones in the movies and the animated series, right? They are small, like big hunting birds?

C: Yes. Some are the size of an eagle or a hawk. The books are very different.

S: But I do know you like those series a lot too.

C: Yes. And I really really like one of the songs from them. Can we put a video of “This is Berk” here?

S: I think we can. Let me see. For some reason I am not able to embed the video (even though we can embed other YouTube videos to our posts), but here is a link for folks to listen if they want to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNPIih4X7SA And this is the link we have used more often: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWr0hSKLcXY Unfortunately, both have some ads at the beginning.

C: No worries. I love this music!

S: I know. Maybe you think about flying on your own dragon?

C: Sometimes.

S: A little bunny on a dragon might not be too safe.

C: Meh, nothing is safe in this world.

S: A pretty insightful statement from a little bunny, but as your mommy bunny, I am not sure I like that sentiment coming from you.

C: Aw come on. You know I am always careful!

S: I know. I know you would definitely be careful if you were flying a dragon!

C: I wish! But can we at least put a trailer of one of the movies?

S: Okay, let us try.

The trailer for How to Train Your Dragon (2010) from YouTube.

C: The movies are really fun too but I also really like the books.

S: I know! Okay, I think this is a good time to wrap up our review. I know our readers will be looking forward to your reviews of the last two books from the series.

C: Yes, they are coming! Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading How to Train Your Viking by Toothless the Dragon, translated from the Dragonese by Cressida Cowell, and is looking forward to finishing up the original series soon. — Caramel loved reading *How to Train Your Viking by Toothless the Dragon*, translated from the Dragonese by Cressida Cowell, and is looking forward to finishing up the original series soon.