The Dragon Snatcher

by M.P. Robertson

An enchanting tale of a boy and his pet dragon who set out to foil the plans of an evil ice wizard plotting to rid the world of dragons. With time running out George and his dragon must act quickly to save the dragon eggs before the wizard snatches them into his icy clutches. Full of excitement and wonderful drawings this book has great text for looking for sentence openers and wow words, appealing to children and parents alike. Featuring fabulous ink and watercolour illustrations, M.P.Robertson has created a gripping tale for any child to read alone or share with adults.

Genres: Picture Books, Dragons, Fantasy, Childrens, Adventure, Magic, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 2005

About the author

Mark (M.P) Robertson was born in Parsons Green, London in 1965.

At an early age he moved to a dormitory town where he did his best to sleep through most of his education.

He narrowly managed to acquire the minimum number of 'O' levels to study graphic design at Hounslow Borough College.

After three years he left disillusioned, took a year to ponder his own navel, then returned to take a degree in illustration at Kingston polytechnic.

After leaving in 1988 he was amazed to find people willing to pay him money to do what he enjoyed. He has been capitalizing on this ever since.

His first picture book Seven Ways to Catch the Moon was published in 1999.

He currently lives in Bradford on Avon, near Bath, with his partner Sophy Williams (Also an illustrator) and two boys. He works in his garden shed where he worries about losing his hair.

Reviews

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intro to fantasy adventures for the youngest crowd! I wanted to like it so much more - because it definitely wasn't bad, and I love the artwork and lots of dragon flight is always good - but it felt like it was missing something. Maybe because I've been on a mid-grade fantasy kick which have the space for more developed adventures (obviously), but it felt like things here were very rushed. I think the adventure parts of the story were just in the text and could have been added to in the pictures? I mean, there are dramatic points in the story, like crashing into a mountainside or snatching the egg from the wizard, but the pictures didn't reflect those moments. I mean, they still seemed pretty serene, even though it should have been an intense point in the story. I definitely still think it's a good intro to fantasy adventures for those a little young for chapter books (like its predecessor The Egg, which I described as a picture book Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher). Maybe I'm just too picky about my dragons!

[Lacie Ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This modern fantasy book is about a young boy named George who has a dragon as a friend. The dragon takes him to a faraway land where there is a mean wizard who is stealing the dragon eggs and keeps them in a castle where he has a spell on them. George ends up turning the mean wizard's heart into a good one and breaks the spell of the eggs so they are able to hatch. In honesty, I didn't think I was going to enjoy this book because I'm usually not a fan of modern fantasy but I absolutely loved this book. I could read it over and over again. I wanted to share it with so many of my friends. The book made me "awww" at the end because the ending was so cute. I have no criticisms toward this book. I would definitely use this book in my classroom because it is a great example of modern fantasy as well as it shows how someone's friend can be anyone and turning a bad person into a good person is always a possibility. There is always hope. I am going to be using this book as an example when teaching the element of modern fantasy.

[Misbah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dragon outside his window takes a little boy to a different land where a wizard is trying to rid the world of dragons by collecting all the dragon eggs before they hatch. The boy tries to save the egg and the egg hatches. The baby dragon imprints on the wizard and the baby dragons affection melts the wizards heart. Some reaction happens causing all the eggs to hatch. Now dragons can roam free in their land.

The story kind of ended abruptly but stars for the illustrations!

[Heather Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My three-year-old loved this one! Although it is on the longer side compared to my son's other children's books, it kept his attention throughout. Beautiful art style with characters who evoke empathy in the reader. Bravo!

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story here got very involved very quickly--definitely more of an action-packed story that felt more like a middle-grade plot than a picture book. A little boy goes to a magical land and saves all the dragons from a wizard. Mostly I just was in it for the pretty awesome dragon illustrations.

[Deidra Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are beautiful. The words are lyrical. I don’t understand why the wizard wanted to destroy the dragons, but have a collection of their eggs. I think his character needed work for this to be top notch.

[Stacy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice artwork!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

CIP: "George and his dragon go to the 'land that is neither here nor there' in order to save a dragon egg from a malevolent ice wizard."

Read this book not for the lightweight plot, but for the gorgeous watercolor illustrations that evoke a true fantasy world, with classic dragons, a towering castle, and a bearded, robed old wizard. The minimal text is confusing by itself, relying on the pictures for much of its meaning, but the simple story has a happy ending that young readers will enjoy. With many full-page and some two-page-spread illustrations, this book could work for a storytime, but most readers will probably want to spend one-on-one time poring over the detailed watercolors. Suitable for kindergarteners through early elementary readers, this book continues the story of George and his dragon begun in the author's previous books, The Egg and The Great Dragon Rescue.

Good review in SLJ; mixed review in BCCB, noting the effective illustrations despite the book's "flimsy plot."

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this is the third in a series (but the first we've read) I guess some of things have already been explained and we'll just have to take them at face value (e.g. such as George having a relationship with the dragon). So George and his dragon go off to rescue the rest of the dragons from an Ice Wizard who hates dragons (yet he uses one to fly around on and chase George and his dragon). They save the day and dragon eggs hatch like there's no tomorrow and little dragons swarm the sky.

Lovely illustrations.

[Gail Barge]

This book takes place in an imaginary land. This book is a good introduction to fantasy, and the characteristics of the genre. Students will love all of the dragons in the story. I would use this story and compare it to the current movie "How to Train Your Dragon" as well as other children's fantasy books. This was a fun, creative story which would be a great story to stretch student's imaginations.

[Vivienne Fraser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has all the elements of a classic adventure story. A dragon arriving at night to take a boy on an secret adventure, a wizard stealing dragon eggs, a high speed dragon chase to rescue the final egg and save the dragons from extinction, and a dramatic ending with a twist. I am sure every time we read this book my son believes he can be George and ride a dragon to the rescue.

see the rest of the review at http://thebookbubble.com/2016/02/the-...

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand this is a fantasy book about dragons, but it didn't seem believable, even for the genre. What child happily jumps onto a dragon's back in the middle of the night? Why is the wizard trying to make dragons extinct? How believable is it for the wizard to abandon his life's work because a baby dragon looks at him lovingly? I'm not buying it.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about dragons, for little ones that love fantasy. I gave it four stars, because I felt the story was too short. I would have loved to see a longer story and illustrations because it was that fun to live in George's world.

I believe this is a series and I will look to see what other books it has to offer.

A fast read for younger reader who can only sit for a short time.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son likes it.

It is about the right length, not too long, not too short. it has good illustrations.


This one has an evil frozen wizard whose heart melts when a baby dragon hatches and think the wizard is his mother. He likes the end when all the dragons hatch and are flying around.

[A.m. Layet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. So did my children, but for different reasons. They loved it because of the story, and illustrations ( which were all spell binding) but I loved it for the poetry of the language. This is one of my favourite children's books ever!

[Maggie Novak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maggie likes this one, but it's a little scarier than the others, so sometimes she's not up for it.

[Seashell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, great illustrations - interesting

[Kati · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this would be a good book for younger boys especially ... an easier dragon book.

[Magila · Rating 4 out of 5]

The enjoyable aspect of this book is that it's an actual story, and not just a "scene" as most picture books are.

[Powers Family · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magical story. Love the art.

[Biblioteca lui Lucas]

Ro: Hotul de Dragoni