Dragon Dawn

Dragonkeeper #0.5

by Carole Wilkinson

Dragonkeeper is a children's fantasy novel by Australian author Carole Wilkinson. It is the first book of the Dragonkeeper trilogy. Ping, a slave girl from an evil master became the first ever female Dragon Keeper.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Childrens, Adventure, Fiction, Magic, Young Adult

204 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Carole was born in England in 1950. Her family moved to Australia when she was 12. She now lives in Melbourne, with her husband John.
Carole didn't start writing until she was nearly 40. Before that, she worked as a laboratory assistant, working with a lot of blood and brains. Once she’d decided to try and become a writer, she went to university. She wrote a lot while she was there including her first novel. She showed it to a friend who worked in publishing who asked if she could write a teenage novel. Her first published book was based on something her daughter, who was at high school at the time, was doing.


Carole says she has lots of ideas and so far she’s never had 'writers' block'. She might have got a late start, but she’s been trying to make up for lost time and has written more than 30 books, some short stories, a telemovie and some TV and planetarium scripts.

Reviews

[Jody Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful take on the Chinese dragon and the concept of dragon keepers. The story was gentle and beautiful and I would read this to my five year old son because there is nothing unsuitable contained.

The concept of dragon keepers was beautiful and the way they have particular attributes that make them a keeper. I loved that it was exclusive to two families in China only and that it is educational for history and Chinese tradition and society. Young adult readers will learn without realising as they delve into a book that is all about a dragon!

Read it to your children or give it to a competent young adult reader!

[Alice Pye · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a cute little back story for danzi, dragon keeper was my favourite series as a kid i can’t wait to read these again this book made me so excited

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. Simple. Fun. I liked the characters. The story was easy to follow. It was surprising, or I'm just not very thoughtful.

Would recommend to kids aged 8-11ish.

[J. Jammy May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and really unique - even within the Dragon Keeper series - but not outstanding. There were better books in the trilogy, but a nice short and sweet companion book that reads more as a side quest than anything serious.

[Mirrani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must admit to being disappointed with Dragon Dawn. While I enjoyed the story it seemed to be only a small fraction of what it could have been. A good portion of the book is not actually the story at all, but is a reference guide called the Dragon Alphabet, which tells some of the history of Dragons in China. It is a good idea and I found it informative, but having so much of the book filled with this general information takes away from the story itself. It feels almost as if the author was trying to fill space at the end of the book to make the story look and feel longer than it is and after having read Dragonkeeper I expected more from its prequel.

The story, such as it was, was written well, but I would have preferred more to have been written about Danzi. There was so much history before his time in captivity and subsequent escape with Ping, I was expecting a great journey to be told within the pages of Dragon Dawn and instead I found what is mostly the diary of a few days of travel.

Dragon Dawn is a good story that could have been made great with a little more time and effort… and a great many more pages of Danzi's history thrown in.

[Corey Holst · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book has 227 pages. 23 of them are the first chapter of Dragon Keeper. 50 pages are an alphabet glossary of dragons (A is for Appearance...etc.) There are only 150 pages of actual story with a few blank pages thrown in here and there. The size of the pages are small, but the font is fairly large, so how many REAL pages of story are there? What story there is, isn't bad, but it's more like an appetizer, than a meal. It amounts to little more than a preface to Dragon Keeper. Now if you know that going in, it's fine, but I thought I was getting a complete novel, not a short story.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

** 3.5 stars **

This book was just okay for me. It was a good enough read, and is only one hundred pages so I finished it quickly. But it is meant to be a prequel to the Dragonkeeper series, and because the book was so short I felt like the plot wasn't developed as well as it could have been and for me it really didn't add anything to the series.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had Dragon Dawn sitting on my bookshelf for way over 10 years. I believe I've read this book around the time it came out but couldn't remember anything about the story. While re-reading I was enthralled by the concept behind the book. The beliefs and ideology of Chinese dragon keepers were exciting to learn about. Also, the mysteries behind a dragon being able to shape-shift and live for an unthinkable amount of time. The stirring of total conquest of a tribe whom before stood no chance is appealing as the action is required to stop them before it's too late. Overall, a good introduction to the Dragon Keeper series, which leaves me excited to read the next book.

[Megan H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember starting this series back in 2010-2012 & absolutely falling in love with dragons, to the point where I am still currently obsessed at the age of 21 😅

This book opened up my mind to the world of fantasy, and pure unaltered imagination. As a child it was really comforting to be able to escape into a world completely different to world I was living in.

The prequel for this series was gifted to me by a family friend, and am so grateful as it has influenced my love for reading & everything fantasy.

[Madie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and sweet prequel to the Dragonkeeper trilogy I loved during Highschool.
Gives a little more insight into Danzi’s life before he was captured.
Only 4 stars because I feel as though the writing was even simpler than in the Dragonkeeper books.
Wilkinson is good at creating a scene and explaining things but I feel this was a bit too oversimplified.
Still a great read and happy to have it in my collection of the series.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short book. It's a great prequel and a real teaser for the Dragon Keeper series, which I am now waiting on the first book of the series to arrive. Easy to read, and easier to get immersed in. Hint: Read the word glossary at the back, as some words are english translated chinese, and will make more sense with this knowlede. Even without knowing it to begin with, its still easy to just get carried along in the story. It doesn't detract from it at all.

[SBC · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dragonkeeper trilogy has been on by to read list for some time, but this one came into my hand at a book sale so I read this prequel first. What a beautiful cover!

It was an easy, light read. Although there is a war on and we see some horrors, it is not an emotionally intense read. Danzi (the young dragon who is the main character of this story) is a prosaic fellow. The main tension in the story is the relationship between Danzi and Bingwen, a trickster that Danzi meets on the road. Can Danzi trust him? Will they become friends or enemies?

An enjoyable read.

[Shereen Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young adult readers will learn without realising as they delve into a book that is all about a dragon!

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dragon Dawn is a fine accompaniment to the Dragon Keeper series, depicting a younger Danzi. The story itself really didn't do too much for me, but it wasn't bad.

[[ J o ]]

[ read the first book in the series, 'Crystal Rain', and did not enjoy, therefore will not be continuing with the series ]

[iz · Rating 3 out of 5]

a taste of what is to come with the rest of the series!! definitely curious and definitely interested to see what happens next

[Steffi · Rating 3 out of 5]

CW/TW: Death, Genocide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, War, Child abuse, Animal death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Wish it could be longer. I hope we see Bingwen again.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a prologue for the Dragon keeper series. It is short enough, and you don't need to read this before the rest of the series. This book was written in a a way, were you will read it once and pick up some infomation, then the next time you pick up more. I think that kids roundabout 11 can read this seriers.

[Oriana Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it was pretty good! I like how its the epilouge of all the dragon keeper books, and it shows how danzi has changed and how he used to talk A LOT. and Now he is really quiet... :( I wish it would have been longer though... :'(

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the way she described scenes with liquid fluency. Magic book that takes you back to old times in China flying high on the wings of a dragon. You get to love Danzi the dragon who has his worries and his magic moments. Can't wait to read "Dragonkeeper" now.

[travelmel]

this is a "prequel" to a series she is finishing. It's not available at our library so she needs to do an ILL

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

short and sweet

[Jacob Li · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short but interesting prequel to the trilogy.

[James Cafferky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful prequel.

[Amina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice read... a bit kiddish but I enjoyed it nonetheless :)

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked it

[Madreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was short but good!!!! it gave you more of an idea of Long Danzi when he was younger.

[Nicole Crowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Harry Cathcart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and I would have loved it even more if I hadn't read the sequels before it. It was exiting and left each chapter making me want to read more.