Dragon Rider
by Cornelia Funke
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Book Summary Information
Author: Cornelia FunkeTranslator: Anthea Bell
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2004-09-01
ISBN: 0439456959
Number of pages: 528
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Publisher: The Chicken House
Book Reviews of Dragon Rider
Book Review: A children book for all ages
Summary: 5 Stars
All was still in the valley of the dragons, when a rat came screaming that the humans were coming. After lliving in the valley of the dragons for centuries, the human population explosion was to invade their private hiding place.
After a meeting of all the dragons, Firedrake, volunteers to go look for the Rim of Heaven; where the dragons had come from. Unfortunately no one knew exactly where it was. The oldest of the dragons barely remembers that they all once lived there and their ancestors are still there.
The rat had a cousin in a city who made maps and Firedrake sets off to find her. He sets up with her Brownie, Sorrel, whose function is to sing dragons to sleep at sunrise, for moonlight is dragon fuel. They can fly when powered by the moonlight and are doomed without it. So to get to the Rim, Firedrake must fly during moonlight nights and hide in a shady place during daylight.
Firedrake is advised to find Gilbert, the white rat that makes maps, so that he can find his way. She lves in a warehouse by the river in a city. The Rim of Heaven is somewhere in the Himalayas, and Gilbert can show him the way. Looking for Gilbert, Sorrel and Firedrake meet and befriend an orphaned boy, Ben, who decides to join them in their quest.
Along the way, the three friends encounter fantastic creatures, surprising courage--and a ruthless villain, Nettlebrand, determined to end their quest.
Only a secret prophecy will save the dragons in this enchanting adventure about the true meaning of home.
Cornelia Funke's masterpiece is an epic adventure that was created for children of all ages. Mastering the universal point of view she creates characters that will be loved by all.
After having J. K. Rowlings end her Harry Potter series in long, tedious and dark way, it is refreshing to find a writer that will entertain and delight anyone with a curious and adventurous mind.
I enjoyed the book immensely had a hard time putting it down. Dragon Rider should be in the permanent library of every family with or without children.
Summary of Dragon Rider
Firedrake, a young dragon, receives a frightening warning one night: Humans are planning to destroy the valley in which he lives! All the dragons must flee. Their only refuge is a place above the clouds called the Rim of Heaven --- which may not even exist. Firedrake boldly volunteers to go ahead first. As he embarks on his journey, he meets Ben, a runaway boy. Together, the boy & dragon make their way toward the Rim of Heaven, all the while running a step ahead of Nettlebrand, a monster who will stop at nothing to hunt down Firedrake. Their quest will truly become an adventure like no other.It's a fantasy, it's long, and it's got dragons in it. Dragon Rider is bound to be another hit book from Cornelia Funke! Ever since the popularity of bestselling fantasies The Thief Lord and Inkheart went global a few years ago, legions of fans have demanded more books from the German author than she can reasonably hope to write each year. So, re-discovering this hefty, earlier novel from 1997 was a logical development--and her keenest readers will devour it as before.
Aimed at slightly younger readers than her previous novels, despite its massive five hundred pages, Dragon Rider is about a brave young dragon called Firedrake who embarks upon a dangerous journey to the Rim of Heaven in the Himalayas--a magical place where silver dragons can rest easy, free from the threat of destruction by mankind and their only hope of sanctuary. The key to its location is a map rendered by a rat who is a master cartographer.
Firedrake is joined on his quest by Ben, an orphaned boy, and Sorrell--a wise-cracking Brownie that is an odd, but ingenious, grumpy kind of fairy. Their journey is not a straightforward one by any means. Created by an alchemist called Petrosius Henbane in 1424, Nettlebrand (a malevolent creature covered in impenetrable gold plates) is their biggest threat--he is intent on destroying them. Nettlebrand is aided by Twigleg, a homunculus who has stowed away in Ben's bag and who is feeding reports on their progress back to his master.
Their exciting encounters are many... It is easy to forgive the narrative's excessive length when readers are gorging on such a wonderfully inventive and readable story from an author who has her readers in the palm of her hand on every page. (Age 9 and over) --John McLay
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