Product Description

"Rebecca Rupp's magical tale . . . radiates a glow as golden as the dragon's scales." — BOSTON SUNDAY GLOBE

Hannah, Zachary, and Sarah Emily are spending the summer at their great-aunt Mehitabel's house on faraway Lonely Island. There, in a cave hidden high above the ocean, they discover a fabulous creature: a glittering three-headed golden dragon with a kind heart, an unpredictable temper, and a memory that spans 20,000 years. Transported by the magic of the dragon's stories, the children meet Mei-lan, a young girl in ancient China; nineteenth-century cabin boy Jamie Pritchett; and, in more recent times, Hitty and her brother, Will, who survive a frightening plane crash on a desert island. In this fluidly written novel, Rebecca Rupp exploreswhat three children from the present learn from the past - and from anunlikely but wise and generous friend.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #406420 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-11
• Released on: 2006-04-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Drawing upon standard adventure-fantasy conventions?an isolated island, a secret room, a mysterious key?first-time novelist Rupp crafts a series of genial if not altogether original stories-within-a-story. Hannah (12), Zachary (10) and Sarah Emily (eight and a half) travel with their mystery-writing mother to Great-great-aunt Mehitabel's house on an island off the coast of Maine for a summer getaway. Their dashing old aunt isn't there, but the three discover an even more fantastic character?a tridrake (three-headed dragon) living hidden in a cave. Each of the three heads awakens to tell a story about a child that befriended it in the past. Their stories teach the siblings needed lessons: Hannah comes to accept the responsibilities that come with being eldest by hearing about the travails of underappreciated Mei-lan in ancient China; Zachary learns the value of sharing through the tale of a 19th-century London orphan captured by pirates; and meek Sarah Emily finds gumption after discovering that the once timid Hitty, who learns self-reliance after she, her brother and their father crash-land during an attempt to fly around the world, is in fact Mehitabel. None of the stories is particularly memorable (especially not Mei-lan's, which draws upon one too many hackneyed folktale stereotypes), and the narrative frame, which strives for a classic timelessness, can feel overly tame or quaint. A modest diversion for middle-grade fantasy fans. Ages 8-11.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-Because their mother needs a quiet place to finish her novel, the three Davis children find themselves spending the summer in a Victorian house on a small island off the coast of Maine. A mysterious letter from their elderly Great Aunt Mehitabel, absentee owner of Lonely Island, helps the siblings discover Fafnyr Goldenwings, a three-headed dragon that sleeps deep inside a cave on Drake's Hill. It can be prickly and fussy, but takes pains not to frighten the children, assuring them at once that it is a vegetarian. Over the course of the summer, each head awakes in turn and tells a story about children that the dragon had helped. It drove away invading Mongols from a Chinese girl's village, saved an orphaned boy from the clutches of evil pirates, and rescued a brother and sister marooned on a desert island-but only after the siblings learned to think for themselves. The children learn that the sister in the last story was actually a young Aunt Mehitabel, who offered the dragon a sanctuary on Lonely Island. The Chinese story has the tone of European tales of exotic Cathay and the other two are reminiscent of earlier children's books, when adventures were more jolly than harrowing. This smoothly written confection may be a tad bland and predictable, but it goes down as easily as an entertaining, light read.
Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Rebecca Rupp's magical tale... is grounded in reality and radiates a glow as golden as the dragon's scales... As the three siblings are transported to the other worlds through his stories, they discover something wonderful about themselves." The Boston Sunday Globe

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Read
This is such an imaginative book. My 9yr old girl and 10yr old boy and I just LOVE this book. You find yourself going into the book yourself. It's a great book for children, without anything inappropriate, not too scary at all, great lessons.

homeschooling mom of 2
My husband found this book at our local library and we started reading it to our 5yr old and boy were we all pleasantly surprised. This book is fantastic, sweet and intriguing, once you start reading you can't stop. My daughter even goes back and rereads the book all by herself now.

a kid's review
This is a very interesting fiction story about three kids who go to an
island and explore it, then they find a three-headed dragon. I like it a
lot! It is very intriguing.