Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher: A Magic Shop Book

Rating:
Summary: "Nothing You Love is Lost"
Review: "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" is the second of Bruce Coville's Magic Shop books, and provide good reading material for readers who love fantasy, but are not yet old enough to tackle the "Harry Potter" series. In fact, the two series are so similar in their quirky humour and fantasy elements, that I wouldn't be surprised if J. K. Rowling has had a read of these books.

Like all the children in this series, Jeremy Thatcher is facing all the usual problems of a young boy: there is an art teacher that hates him, a pair of bullies that torment him, and a girl with a mighty big crush on him. After a particularly bad day of facing these three problems, Jeremy escapes into Mr Elives Magic Shop, where he ends up buying a mysterious sphere of dreamy colours. On taking it home, he reads the instructions that Mr Elives included in the package...instructions for hatching a dragon's egg!

Sure enough, after a small ceremony on the front lawn, the egg begins to break - revealing a tiny red dragon inside. Rather frantic, Jeremy begins the process of looking after her: feeding, hiding and generally caring for the dragonlet he names Tiamat. In return, Tiamat helps him out with a few of his own problems, and fills his head with colours and images that set his fingers itching to draw.

Finally though, it seems that it's time for Tiamat to return to her own world. With information gathered from the book that the mysterious Miss Priest gives him, Jeremy realises he can no longer keep Tiamat around - especially since she's getting bigger and bigger! So it's one more trip to the Magic Shop, to open a portal between this world and that of the dragons...

Reasonably short and sweet, "Dragon Hatcher" is a book that most young fantasy lovers will enjoy, with enough little tidbits on dragon lore to lend a sense of authenticity to Tiamat's existence. It would be nice to add a bit of meat to Mr Elive's role within the stories, as his motivations are a little unclear: does he purposely draw children into his shop? What is the function of his shop? Who are his usual customers? Does he plan to give out magical items? And what about Miss Priest? What's her story? Although kids won't care, I felt as an older reader the book would have benefited alot by having a little background on the magical aspects explained a bit more. On the whole, a nice blend of the magical with real life senarios, and though a couple of loose ends aren't tied up (what happened to Mr Kravitz? Do Jeremy and Mary Lou remain friends?), a sad but satisfying ending.

Rating:
Summary: "Nothing You Love is Lost"
Review: For kids that are too young for the complex "Harry Potter" series, and yet interested in fantasy stories, then Bruce Coville's Magic Shop books might be the thing to hook them up with. Each book is based on a basic premise: a young child with the usual kid problems (home trouble, bullies, crushes, angry teachers, etc) stumble across Mr Elives' Magic Shop, and leave with an unusual purchase that creates more trouble for them, but ultimately teaches them important lessons.

In this case, Jeremy Thatcher escapes two bullies, the resentful nature of his art teacher and the unwanted affections of Mary Lou by ducking into the Magic Shop, where Mr Elives gruffly allows him to take home a strange glistening sphere with a sheet of mysterious instructions - it would seem Jeremy is about to hatch a dragon's egg! With the tiny dragonlet Tiamat born, but growing steadily by the day, Jeremy gains more confidence against the problems in his life, as well as more creative flair with the inspiration that Tiamat magically places in his mind's eye.

Obviously, a baby dragon in the house is not as easy as it sounds, and even though only Jeremy can see her, Tiamat is still able to manipulate circumstances around her with her fiery breath. But Tiamat must eventually return home to her own world, and along with the mysterious, beautiful Miss Priest and Mr Elives, Jeremy participates in the ritual to send her to the "dragon-world". Despite the loss however, Jeremy has found a new outlook on life, had old friendships tested and new ones forged, and come to understand a spiteful teacher better.

With little dashes of real dragon lore mingled in with his own creative liberties, Coville makes the world natural enough for belief to be suspended, although as an older reader, I would dearly like to know more about the Shop, its owner and its associate Miss Priest. Who are they really? How do they pick the children they give gifts to? How does the Shop move around? If he wished, Coville could make these short but sweet stories into something much more deep and interesting.

As I said, the Magic Shop books are great for younger readers, with enough of the every-day troubles to relate to, and enough of the fantasy elements to fire their own imaginations.

Its also worth mentioning that if you're a part of a country that recieves the Great Britain copies of these books, there are some wonderful new covers to behold by the artist Tony Diterlizzi, best know for his illustrations in the "Spiderwick Chronicles", that beautifully capture the children's personalities and their magical companions.

Rating:
Summary: This is a great book!
Review: I am 22 years old, and i still hold this book fondly in my memories. This book is a must for anyone of any age who likes or loves dragons. Instead of a coming of age story about a boy and his dog. This is one about a boy and his dragon. I will definatly have this book in my children's children's library.

Rating:
Summary: You will read it over and over and over...
Review: Jeremy Thatcher doesn't even look back while he is running away from Mary Lou Hutton's "Kiss of Death." So you're not srprised when he finds a street he's unfamiliar with. He walks into a magic shop, hoping to find something to make Mary Lou dissapear. Instead, he finds a ball of swirling colors and buys it. He finds some wierd instructions in the box it came in and decides to try them out. So he hatches a dragon, and with it comes a whole lot of friendship, adventure, and trust. This is an excellent book and I think you would enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Fantasy Book for Middle Readers
Review: Sixth grader Jeremy Hatcher never would have found Mr. Elives's Magic Shop, had Freddie the Frog Killer and Howard Morton not been trying to hold him down so Mary Lou Hutton could kiss him. But Jeremy ran as fast as he could, and someone ended up in the mysterious shop. Pretty soon Mr. Elives is showing Jeremy all types of different oddball stuff to purchase, like the Skull of Truth, Chinese Rings, and a Dragon's Egg. And, thanks to Mr. Elives' recommendation, Jeremy ends up leaving the magic shop with his hands full of a beautiful colored Dragon's Egg. Of course, Jeremy thinks that the entire thing is a huge hoax, until the egg hatches, and Jeremy finds himself the proud owner of a beautiful baby dragon, who communicates with him telepathically.

Bruce Coville has created a new series (The Magic Shop Series), which is just perfect for those young fans of J.K. Rowling's HARRY POTTER, who enjoy the movies, but just can't seem to grasp the books. Coville is the answer to those children. Featuring four books in a series that is perfect for young magic lover's, JENNIFER MURDLEY'S TOAD, JEREMY THATCHER, DRAGON HATCHER, THE MONSTER'S RING, and THE SKULL OF TRUTH. Fans of Coville's previous works will relish in the fantastical journey they will embark on with Jeremy Thatcher, and his lovely new pet. A must-have.

Erika Sorocco

Rating:
Summary: Jeremy the dragon hatcher
Review: This book isn't in my top ten, but it is a good book. It is very descriptive and has a lot of suspense. I had to read this book for school, and in the beginning, I didn't want to read it because, I thought, yes, the cover was lame. This book taught me NEVER to judge a book by it's cover.

Rating:
Summary: Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher
Review: This story's exciting part never ends. I felt like I was Jeremy. It's a great book if you like magic. While trying to get away from bullies, Jeremy ran into a magic shop. He bought a dragon egg. He thought that it was a pretty marble or pretty ball. He did not know it was an egg. The dragon hatches on a full moon. Read the book to find out what happens.