Lily Quench and the Dragon of Ashby (Lily Quench)

Rating:
Summary: A great book for precocious readers!
Review: My almost-six year old loved this book, and I can see why. It's exciting and fast-moving (like the Droon books), but with likeable characters. I suspect the action would be a little cartoony or melodramatic for older readers -- eight and up -- but for younger ones who already have fluent reading skills, or as a read-aloud, it's terrific.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous New Series for Young/Middle Readers
Review: The Quench family of Ashby have been known as the greatest dragon slayers in all the land, and have always been the bearer's of great success, until Ashby is invaded by the evil Black Count, and the Quenches family fortune quickly diminishes. That is, until a dragon unexpectedly arrives in Ashby, and the last of the Quenches, young Lily, is summoned to fight it. Lily knows nothing about quenching dragons, but she is expected to learn. And quickly! However, Lily soon learns that there is a power more evil than the dragons living in Ashby, and is soon on a magical adventure to save Ashby from the hands of crooks.

I adore fiction about dragons, and Natalie Jane Prior's LILY QUENCH AND THE DRAGON OF ASHBY is no exception. Filled with hair-raising adventure at every turn, and a very likable heroine, young readers will find themselves unable to put this book down, and parents will find themselves grappling for the next book in the series to satisfy their young readers appetite. Overall, this is a fabulous first book in a wonderful new series for young/middle readers who love dragon and adventure stories.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper