The Dragon of Lonely Island by Rebecca Rupp was an interesting, fun read. I stumbled across it in the juvenile fiction section of our library and picked it up. Turns out to be a wonderful find! There were plenty of twists and turns to keep the story interesting and all three of the giggly girls enjoyed it as a read-aloud.
SUMMARY:
The three children, Hannah, Zachary, and Sarah Emily, find themselves on a lonely island for the summer and are not exactly pleased about it. Mother will be occupied writing her book so the children have to entertain themselves. Luckily, Aunt Mehitabel, whose house they are borrowing, send them a cryptic message and a key. This is the beginning of discovery and travel through story. Finding themselves face to face with three-headed dragon, they learn much about dragon lore, history, and themselves. Transported through time and history through the stories each of the dragon heads tell, the children find that the summer flies by.
When I was reading this to the girls, they just did not want me to stop reading. We had to read several chapters at a time due to the cliff-hanging endings to some of the chapters. You just can’t leave things dangling like that! This is one every family needs to add to their read-aloud pile!
I found some questions on Sweet On Books . . . where reading is a treat.
• How would you describe the siblings’ relationships?
At the beginning of the book, they are pretty strained. Hannah is growing up and struggling to find how that fits into the world she has always known with her brother and sister. At the end of the book, they are bonded. They understand each other, watch out for each other, and help one another. It is a neat transformation.
• Which sibling do you relate to the most and why?
I can see part of each sibling in myself. Not all of it is things I like. I find myself struggling against the selfishness that Zachary overcomes. I see myself lacking confidence as Sarah Emily does. I also see myself as the protector, as I see Hannah being sometimes. I think that is the beauty of these characters – we can find a bit of ourselves in each of them.
• Do you think that inequalities for girls still exist today?
In some ways, yes. But that is not bad. Inequality does not lessen the importance of the person or their abilities. I think this is one of the worst issues with out world today. We expect everything to be even and equal. We were not created that way and we should not pretend that this is how things need to be.
• Do you believe in dragons? Would you like to meet one?
No, I don’t believe in dragons. But if they did exist, I would LOVE to meet one that is as friendly and interesting a Fafnyr.
• Which of the three dragon stories did you like the best, and why?
I liked all of them. I think they all move the story along nicely, connecting the past to the present. Each of the stories presented and moral to be learned. I enjoyed that aspect of the stories.
Wendy will be getting her post up shortly and I will link that here. We have also not decided on next month’s read. Guess it is past time to do that. Sorry to all my readers about neglecting that. I’ll share a quick post with the title when we decide.
Holler back at me once you have read this one and tell me what you think about it. I was pretty pleased to have stumbled across this. It was a fun, easy read that really transported the imagination around.
At Home.
At Home 
[…] Don’t forget to check out Lori’s thoughts on The Dragon of Lonely Island here. […]