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Dragonlance: New Adventures #2
A Practical Guide to Dragon Riding
Take flight with this sequel to The New York Times best-selling A Practical Guide to Dragons!!
How do you hatch a dragon egg? Do dragon riders need reins? How do you say fly in Draconic? Once again, Sindri Suncatcher opens up his notebooks to share with us more wonders of dragonkind. In this fully illustrated guide, readers will learn how to raise a baby dragon, discover step-by-step how to train it, and take flight on the wings of your very own dragon mount.
Book Details: Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 8/26/2008 Pages: 80 Reading Level: Age 6 and Up
How do you hatch a dragon egg? Do dragon riders need reins? How do you say fly in Draconic? Once again, Sindri Suncatcher opens up his notebooks to share with us more wonders of dragonkind. In this fully illustrated guide, readers will learn how to raise a baby dragon, discover step-by-step how to train it, and take flight on the wings of your very own dragon mount.
Book Details: Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 8/26/2008 Pages: 80 Reading Level: Age 6 and Up
80 pages, Hardcover
First published August 26, 2008
3 people are currently reading
346 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Trumbauer
304 books9 followersLisa Trumbauer has written early-learner books for Scholastic's Jump Start series and published numerous other activity books, picture books, and novels for middle-school readers, including the New York Times bestseller A Practical Guide to Dragons.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 13, 2018
Actual rating is 3.5 stars.
This book is part of the Dragonlance realm. This book is told thru Sindri Suncatcher who is a character from the YA series. This is a how to guide to bond with a dragon and form a trust with the dragon to become its rider. I would liken this book to a how to guide for pet ownership.
This book is a very quick read and is geared more towards children. That being said, it is a beautiful book as it has illustrations throughout. The whole package is artistic and I have no problem with displaying it in my bookcase. These practical guides provide little content but this one contained terrific information in the little content that was there. I liked how this guide gave different bonding aspects for the different dragons and one can tell a lot of thought went into these books. I was interested the whole time I read this.
This guide is more of a background information book to introduce readers to the dragons of Dragonlance. This book is worth the price alone for its beauty. I believe readers will enjoy this book just for the illustrations alone.
This book is part of the Dragonlance realm. This book is told thru Sindri Suncatcher who is a character from the YA series. This is a how to guide to bond with a dragon and form a trust with the dragon to become its rider. I would liken this book to a how to guide for pet ownership.
This book is a very quick read and is geared more towards children. That being said, it is a beautiful book as it has illustrations throughout. The whole package is artistic and I have no problem with displaying it in my bookcase. These practical guides provide little content but this one contained terrific information in the little content that was there. I liked how this guide gave different bonding aspects for the different dragons and one can tell a lot of thought went into these books. I was interested the whole time I read this.
This guide is more of a background information book to introduce readers to the dragons of Dragonlance. This book is worth the price alone for its beauty. I believe readers will enjoy this book just for the illustrations alone.
September 12, 2011
I do realize I am a bit biased since this is based on the Dungeons and Dragons game, but still it is a fun read with fantastic illustrations. I once used it in a creative writing class as our "textbook," where we were writing stories as if we were dragon riders. The book was used as source material for researching the best dragon (depending on individual personality,) where to seek out an egg, how to care for it, how to train the beast, etc... Lots of fun!
February 13, 2021
This book purports to be an annotated nonfiction field guide about dragons written by a "kender". While I am sometimes wary of such books, kids old enough to read and enjoy this text will hopefully also be old enough to differentiate between fantasy and reality.
Many of the "facts" are consistent with Dungeons and Dragons and other fantasy worlds, including good metallic dragons and evil chromatic dragons, scale color giving an indication of habitat and powers, and the life stages a dragon passes through. All dragons featured are European.
Unfortunately there are a number of internal contradictions. This seems especially odd since the author could make up any facts they wanted. Maybe this helps children realize it is all nonsense, but I would have appreciated more effort and respect given to the topic.
The author has a note saying they "prefer not to judge a dragon by the color of its skin" then differentiates everything by dragon skin color. This may be an artifact of the annotations vs. text, but may normalize people paying lip service to issues of equity and equality while engaging in racist behaviors.
The title is A Practical Guide to Dragon Riding, but that is only the focus of five pages (16 if I am extremely generous) out of the entire book.
The author says "once your dragon has grown to the size of a horse..." accompanied by a picture of a dragon closer to 30 feet tall.
The text claims dragons fly by coasting with their large wings, yet has a table claiming many dragons fly at 1500 miles per hour.
The text states that dragonliches can only be created by collaborating with en evil dragon, yet the note says the author hopes to create one themselves. Maybe they are evil (and do promote stealing eggs and wearing dragonhide to train a dragon), but later they shy away from even describing Draconians because they are "so truly evil and horrible"
Overall it's a neat idea for a book when done right, but the lack of attention to detail led to a number of problems.
Many of the "facts" are consistent with Dungeons and Dragons and other fantasy worlds, including good metallic dragons and evil chromatic dragons, scale color giving an indication of habitat and powers, and the life stages a dragon passes through. All dragons featured are European.
Unfortunately there are a number of internal contradictions. This seems especially odd since the author could make up any facts they wanted. Maybe this helps children realize it is all nonsense, but I would have appreciated more effort and respect given to the topic.
The author has a note saying they "prefer not to judge a dragon by the color of its skin" then differentiates everything by dragon skin color. This may be an artifact of the annotations vs. text, but may normalize people paying lip service to issues of equity and equality while engaging in racist behaviors.
The title is A Practical Guide to Dragon Riding, but that is only the focus of five pages (16 if I am extremely generous) out of the entire book.
The author says "once your dragon has grown to the size of a horse..." accompanied by a picture of a dragon closer to 30 feet tall.
The text claims dragons fly by coasting with their large wings, yet has a table claiming many dragons fly at 1500 miles per hour.
The text states that dragonliches can only be created by collaborating with en evil dragon, yet the note says the author hopes to create one themselves. Maybe they are evil (and do promote stealing eggs and wearing dragonhide to train a dragon), but later they shy away from even describing Draconians because they are "so truly evil and horrible"
Overall it's a neat idea for a book when done right, but the lack of attention to detail led to a number of problems.
January 22, 2023
A Practical Guide to Dragon Riding is the sequel to A Practical Guide to Dragons. Much like the previous book, it's geared towards a younger audience. The information presented is more instructional than informational. The previous book focused on statistics and descriptions of the dragons. This book focuses on practical activities, such as raising, training, and riding a dragon, and it was much more enjoyable than the first book.
However, I do have some concerns... In the first chapter, the dragon drawings are improperly labeled. The Brass dragon is labeled as a Copper, the Copper as a Bronze, and the Bronze as a Brass. It's not a huge deal; I actually had a reason to use A Practical Guide to Dragons!
There were a few grammar and word order issues, but not many. However, the charts are somewhat unreliable. For example, the chart that lists Dragon Powers does not list the most prominent ability of the Golden Dragon, even though that ability is central to the dragon's character. I also found it funny that the book uses measurements like miles per hour and fahrenheit. It's slightly immersion-breaking, but it's a minor concern.
I was happy to see that the Draconic dictionary was expanded upon. It was about half the size in the first book, I believe, and there was some help with how to pronounce the words this time around. There still wasn't enough to know that you have the proper pronunciation, but it's an improvement.
All-in-all it was a really solid read. I'm interested in reading more about the Dragonlance universe, and I'm really hoping that the world is developed (and consistent) enough for me to get into the lore and do some analysis. :)
However, I do have some concerns... In the first chapter, the dragon drawings are improperly labeled. The Brass dragon is labeled as a Copper, the Copper as a Bronze, and the Bronze as a Brass. It's not a huge deal; I actually had a reason to use A Practical Guide to Dragons!
There were a few grammar and word order issues, but not many. However, the charts are somewhat unreliable. For example, the chart that lists Dragon Powers does not list the most prominent ability of the Golden Dragon, even though that ability is central to the dragon's character. I also found it funny that the book uses measurements like miles per hour and fahrenheit. It's slightly immersion-breaking, but it's a minor concern.
I was happy to see that the Draconic dictionary was expanded upon. It was about half the size in the first book, I believe, and there was some help with how to pronounce the words this time around. There still wasn't enough to know that you have the proper pronunciation, but it's an improvement.
All-in-all it was a really solid read. I'm interested in reading more about the Dragonlance universe, and I'm really hoping that the world is developed (and consistent) enough for me to get into the lore and do some analysis. :)
November 19, 2019
4/5
Once again, a fabulous edition to the Practical Guides series. Features solid information about the raising of dragons and aerial combat, as well as other species in the dragon family. The art is beautiful and it is easily read and understood. Great for kids just getting into fantasy or D&D.
Once again, a fabulous edition to the Practical Guides series. Features solid information about the raising of dragons and aerial combat, as well as other species in the dragon family. The art is beautiful and it is easily read and understood. Great for kids just getting into fantasy or D&D.
October 15, 2024
Interesting scenarios. Basic information about dragons. Good magic items.
November 13, 2015
In the world of DragonLance, my favorite character is a Kender named Tasslehoff "Tas" Burrfoot. Although Tas did not write this book, another Kender did. What is a Kender you might ask? A Kender is a small humanoid that look a bit like an Elf with pointed ears (don't tell an Elf that I said that), is very excitable, easily distracted, very brave, always wears their hair in a topknot, dresses colorfully, and has a tendency to "borrow" items they see. I have read about Sindri Suncatcher in the in the DragonLance: The New Adventures books, and although he isn't as entertaining as Tas, I like him very much.
During Sindri's adventures while under the tutelage of the wizard Maddoc, he compiled a massive amount of information about dragons. In his previous book, A Practical Guide to Dragons, Sindri wrote about the ten different types of dragons that walk and fly in the world of DragonLance. There are five types of Chromatic Dragons and five types of Metallic Dragons. The Chromatic Dragons are evil while the Metallic Dragons are good. In his newest book, Sindri focuses on how a person would go about hatching a dragon egg, bonding with the wrymling, raising the wyrmling to adulthood, and finally training the dragon to take on a rider. Sindri also discusses different creatures that are related to dragon in the Dragonkind chapter.
I am happy to report after reading both of Sindri Suncatcher's books that I am now extremely knowledgeable about dragons and am ready to become a dragon rider. I know what I need to do to find a dragon egg, what I have to do to hatch the egg, what I have to feed the wyrmling, what materials I need to build a saddle, what gear I need to wear, and how to train the dragon for a rider. I am totally ready to go. Now, if only I could find a Silver Dragon egg . . .
Since Sindri Suncatcher is a character in the DragonLance world, the actual writing for this book was done by Lisa Trutkoff Trumbauer. She did an terrific job of researching and gathering all of this information and writing it so it can be easily understood. The cover and interior art, by sixteen different artists, is wonderful. This book is absolutely beautiful.
Overall, A Practical Guide to Dragon Riding is an marvelous book full of very interesting facts about dragons and dragonkind. Young readers will spend hours and hours pouring over the information and images in this book, which will help them better understand the dragons and creatures in the Dragon Codex series.
I rated this book a 9 out of 10.
During Sindri's adventures while under the tutelage of the wizard Maddoc, he compiled a massive amount of information about dragons. In his previous book, A Practical Guide to Dragons, Sindri wrote about the ten different types of dragons that walk and fly in the world of DragonLance. There are five types of Chromatic Dragons and five types of Metallic Dragons. The Chromatic Dragons are evil while the Metallic Dragons are good. In his newest book, Sindri focuses on how a person would go about hatching a dragon egg, bonding with the wrymling, raising the wyrmling to adulthood, and finally training the dragon to take on a rider. Sindri also discusses different creatures that are related to dragon in the Dragonkind chapter.
I am happy to report after reading both of Sindri Suncatcher's books that I am now extremely knowledgeable about dragons and am ready to become a dragon rider. I know what I need to do to find a dragon egg, what I have to do to hatch the egg, what I have to feed the wyrmling, what materials I need to build a saddle, what gear I need to wear, and how to train the dragon for a rider. I am totally ready to go. Now, if only I could find a Silver Dragon egg . . .
Since Sindri Suncatcher is a character in the DragonLance world, the actual writing for this book was done by Lisa Trutkoff Trumbauer. She did an terrific job of researching and gathering all of this information and writing it so it can be easily understood. The cover and interior art, by sixteen different artists, is wonderful. This book is absolutely beautiful.
Overall, A Practical Guide to Dragon Riding is an marvelous book full of very interesting facts about dragons and dragonkind. Young readers will spend hours and hours pouring over the information and images in this book, which will help them better understand the dragons and creatures in the Dragon Codex series.
I rated this book a 9 out of 10.
July 27, 2014
If you're trying to write dragons and you don't have this book, I have no idea what you're doing. lol This book has been absolutely indispensable for me. The images are fantastic, and the explanations for dragon flight mechanics and proper riding techniques are simple and easy understand. A wonderful foundation for an author to start creating their own fantastic mounts. (Not that dragons need riders...lol) It is a pricey little book depending on where you buy it, but I DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY recommend it!
July 16, 2012
Summer of 2012 : Finnian : carried this and two other "Practical Guide to Dragon_____" books with him everywhere. Looked at and read one of them the entire time on a 6 hour drive, made up dragon stories and imaginary dragon friends. The only con (in his view) is the authors' view on colored dragons being "bad" or worse than metallics anyway. That, he finds ridiculous.
January 22, 2014
If you want to learn more about how to take care of dragons and ride then this is the book for you. A Practicial Guide to to Dragon Riding is educational book about dragons.
May 19, 2015
Entertaining but not awesome book. Some of the data tables for dragon speeds seem off. There were a few typos.
August 12, 2016
A very useful guide! My brother takes it from the library EVERY SINGLE TIME, and i don't blame him, it's awesome!
September 27, 2016
Excellent dragon guide for the serious dragon lover.
Fiercely beautiful.
Fiercely beautiful.
December 10, 2013
Yet more fun with dragons! Gorgeous illustration and a fun, joyous narrative style.
September 4, 2018
What a good book it is like you are in dragon class
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews